.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

You wouldn't expect a movie that has scenes of torture, a small child jumping into a an outhouse deposit of excrement,

Danny Boyle, you're my hero. In 1995, you released Shallow Grave. It was one of those great thrillers like the Wachowski's Bound that really stands out as a stellar mid-90's film that few have heard about. Then, in 1996, your release of Trainspotting turned the industry on its ear. Everyone was talking about it, and drug use was brought into mainstream film like never before. Flash forward to 2002 and you helmed 28 Days Later. A zombie film that breathed life back into the undead genre. Your zombies were fast and had an uncontrollable craving for human flesh. Dawn of the Dead (the remake) and countless other zombie films in your wake have copied some of the ideas that you presented in the 2002 masterpiece. And finally, in 2007, Sunshine. Not seen by many in theatres and surely not a powerhouse on the DVD rental charts, I found Sunshine to be one of the best films of 2007. A science fiction gem.

With horror, thrillers and science fiction on your resume, you went back to drama in 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire. I have but two words for you. "Thank You"

Slumdog Millionaire is by far his crowning achievement. Following the life of one Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) we are introduced to the main character immediately as he is questioned by authorities after his success on the India version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Authorities do not believe that a boy from the slums would have the knowledge to advance as far as Jamal has and extreme measures are taken by his captors in an effort to extract the truth. The opening scenes definitely get your attention as the young man is strung up, punched and electrocuted in his interrogation. Hard to believe that through the opening, the plot will eventually evolve into a love story.

As Jamal sits handcuffed in an office chair, he recounts his memories from childhood which explain how he came to know each of the questions being offered to him on the show.

Slumdog Millionaire then ships back and forth through time as we follow Jamal's upbringing through the slums of India. We watch in horror as his mother is killed and he is forced to live on the streets with his brother Salim. But we also watch with extreme elation as Jamal works his way through the tough questions as offered to him by the host of the show Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor).

The central focus of the story comes early when Jamal first meets Latika (Freida Pinto). Latika and Jamal spark a lifelong friendship for their early ages much to the dismay of brother Salim. Salim does everything he can to try and separate the two throughout the years, but Jamal's persistence keeps leading him back to his one true love.

We learn later that Jamal's only reason for going on the show was in hopes that Latika would be watching and that the two could live a Happily Ever After life that is common in film.

Slumdog Millionaire does just about every right. It spends just enough time with each of the Jamal characters (young Jamal, middle Jamal, adult Jamal) so that you are intensely interested in each one's journey without being over exposed. Each of the actors Patel, Tanay Chheda and especially Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as the young Jamal do a fantastic job each one worthy of any awards or accolades they are to receive.

Danny Boyle keeps the pace moving and the story engrossing. As we watch children being tortured to Salim falling in with the wrong crowd, we are mesmerized by the transformation of each character and can easily relate - if not understand - the paths to which each have taken for their survival.

The ending to Slumdog Millionaire may not come to anyone's surprise, but that is all part of the ride. The film might have suffered from an ending that didn't have Jamal triumphing and from the reaction of the audience, they were appreciative that Boyle didn't try and stray from the chosen path for the purposes of giving us something gloomy to take us back to our homes.

Slumdog won the top award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and will surely be on Best Of… lists and on nomination ballots in the upcoming months. By a length, it is the best film so far of 2008.