Slumdog Millionaire opens with two juxtaposed scenes; in one the nervous-looking Jamal (Dev Patel of Skins) sit in India's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? hot seat, in the other, uncomfortable close-ups show us his beaten body, as a fierce policeman demands to know how he could possibly have known "the answers." The entire rest of the film is dedicated to answering this specific question. We watch as Jamal climbs up the millionaire ladder, and with each new question we are thrust back into his past, learning the answers alongside him. Adapted from Vika Swarup's novel, this script is a perfectly taut tapestry of comedy, drama, colour and passion. It is at once the tale of a young boy's vigilance, of an idyllic romance, of two brothers' torturous relationship and of the daily struggles faced in India's most poverty-stricken corners. The strange fusion of popular game-show tension with conventional drama build-up absolutely works, delivering a final result that is gripping, engaging and moving. As the first film from this summer's much anticipated "Oscar-contender line-up" to make its way into our cinemas, Slumdog Millionaire has been preceded by a whole heap of hype and a plethora of awards - but director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, The Beach) has proven his versatility yet again. This film is close to perfect.
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