If there is a movie to start off this year with a bang, Slumdog Millionaire is that movie. Filmed in India, the cast, including lead actors Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and Madhur Mittal give a stunning performance that takes a clever spin on the popular game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." Jamal (Patel) finds a way to get onto the India version of the show simply to be seen by the only woman he wants to be with, Latika (Pinto). The movie is an adaptation of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize-nominated novel "Q and A" by Indian author Vikas Swarup.

The movie begins with Jamal being brutally interrogated by officials who believe he had cheated his way to a fortune of ten million rupees on the game show. The rest of the movie is learning about how his entire life has been intertwined with the coincidental answers to all of the questions he had been asked on the show, proving that he was telling the truth and not cheating the system.


Directed by Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millioinaire displays the true essence of skillfully crafted filming. Being shot in India, you get an immerse sense of what it was like for Jamal and his brother Salim (Mittal) to grow up in the slums of Mumbai, India. The realism that the movie portrays will leave you with a lasting appreciation for the conveniences that will live with here in America. Furthermore, the soundtrack to the movie was well picked, which is, unfortunately, not the case for most films these days.

The movie has be acclaimed as, "a piece of riveting cinema, meant to be savored as a Cinderella-like fairy tale" says Nikhat Kazm of Times of India. Controversy has risen about the portrayal of India in the film, however, the overwhelming majority of critics have openly embraced the thrilling tale of the transformation of one poor boy's life.

If you haven't seen a movie in the theaters in awhile because you're scared that you're going to be spending your hard-earned $10.50 on garbage, then fear not. Slumdog Millionaire delivers in old-style storybook happy-ending fashion. Throughout the movie you become engulfed in the incredibly well-done depiction of the characters and the setting of India. This film will leave you will a feeling of satisfied love and justified brotherhood. If you don't get the pleasure of seeing this incredible piece of filming in the theaters, don't hesitate to throw it into your cart when it's released on DVD in the upcoming months.