Movie review: 'Slumdog Millionaire'

chicagoan from chicago - February 15, 2009 at 1:34 PM

This movie does a great disservice to the western populace by depicting a one sided (that too much more darkly than reality) view of India. The stoty was changed somewhat to make it pander to the western opinions about 'Third World' countries. This is a huge case of what psychologists call 'Confirmation Bias'. But many such films were made about showing the abject poverty, injustices in India. Example: all films made by the 'great' filmmaked Satyajit Ray and the like. That has never put down the spirit of Indians. This movie though brings up some issues, loses any credibility due to complete one-sidedness. Good luck.

funnyintellect from rg - February 01, 2009 at 3:39 PM

i read this recently and it says what I want to say, a lot more politely. Consider an Indian director travelled to New Orleans for a few months to film a movie about Jamal Martin, an impoverished African American who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina, who once had a promising basketball career, but who -- following a drive-by shooting -- now walks with a permanent limp, whose father is in jail for selling drugs, whose mother is addicted to crack cocaine, whose younger sister was killed by gang-violence, whose brother was arrested by corrupt cops, whose first born child has sickle cell anaemia, and so on. The movie would be widely panned and laughed out of theatres.--- So not sure why stereotypical movie on India is lapped up so much! Oh yeah! that answers it- it's about India. It's a mockery of Western awards and juries, and also reflects the cocoon of stereotypes that the western public still lives in.

mike from orlando - January 29, 2009 at 7:57 PM

its really nice movie.i will get 10 out of 10. have no words to say about this movie))))))))>>>>>> OSCAR MOVIE.

shenzhou from What?? - January 15, 2009 at 7:09 PM

With due respect to the previous posters, I think Mr. Phillips is close to dead-on with his assessment of this solid but overrated fairy tale, the latter third of which simply cannot keep up with the mind-blowing pace set by first two-thirds (I disagree in that I didn't find the filmmaking suffocating). But just as Mr. Phillips says, it's a feel-good crowd-pleaser that is even touching in many ways, but the unwavering (to the point of unbelievable) goodness of the lead characters and implausible plot details that float by on the magic of a Dickensian fantasy simply belie the darker tone set by the beginning of the film, not to mention reality. What's most frustrating is that the film could really have been great had the filmmakers spent more time refining the details in the latter third so that the ending wouldn’t have been so predictable. Mr. Phillips has done a very good job with this review, and his honesty has only enhanced his credibility in my eyes.

'Cada Peregrine from ChicagoLAND - January 13, 2009 at 4:04 AM

Michael Phillips, You have ruined my entire experience of the Chicago Tribune 'movies' section forever. You do nothing more than give away surprise plot elements, comic twists, key characterizations, etc... You rehash rather than review; your lack of ability to study or analyze film in greater context is tiresome. Inexorably, you offer marginal reviews to spectacular films, especially to those films you feel will do well enough without your help. It appears your goal as a critic is to bring down that which you envy. Stop.

keku from Pottstown - December 24, 2008 at 7:02 PM

I believe this movie is, well, beyond your intellectual level, Mr. Philips. Um, somehow, I am absolutely, 100 % certain Mr. Michael Philips has never, ever, been to Bombay (or Mumbai), and his self-righteous (A.R Rehman - Peppy shamelessness?) indignation that anything coming from a poor country can ever end at a happy note is proof positive of that. For all the poverty, Mumbaikars - people from Mumbai, of which I am one, may be poor, but are not stupid. Mr. Philips, we can be very poor and exuberant. Have high IQ and still work in a call center be poor still cheerful. Contradiction and complexity is something we can absorb easily. With all due respect, Mr. Philip, you would not last one day in a Mumbai slum - because of your stupidity. You have no clue, and you have no clue that you have no clue!! This movie has its weak points. I don't deny that. But it is not, and for the reasons you think.