Netflix Movie Review – Slumdog Millionaire

REVIEW: This movie is a tightly woven story that has been expertly edited into an emotional and moving motion picture. The contrast between Jamal's upbringing and his chance of escaping it on the show are adeptly juxtaposed. Mumbai is portrayed as a place of terrifying poverty and unforgettable brutality, and Jamal and his brother get into a never-ending succession of challenging situations. But the way the director ties together Jamal's life experiences with his answers on the show is quite brilliant, and the film really does run the full gamut of emotions as we follow him growing up, falling in love, coming close to death, and teetering on the brink of escaping from his terrible predicament. Though some of the movie has subtitles and the dialect is often hard to follow, it is well worth the effort. Maybe the title and subject made us question watching this movie, however we were quite surprised in the end. We give it [4 Stars]

SYNOPSIS: Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a street kid (or "slumdog") who has landed an appearance on India's version of the hit TV game show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Jamal exceeds expectations on the show, and the producers alert the police after they become suspicious of his methods. The young contestant is subsequently arrested and is interrogated at the hands of a nameless police inspector. As the interrogation proceeds, Jamal's story is told through harrowing flashbacks that both show the terrible poverty of Mumbai and help explain how he knew the answers to the MILLIONAIRE questions.