As of January 24th, I had 42 Oscar nominated films to see. Today I’m down to 39.
Yesterday I went out to the theaters and caught Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader and Revolutionary Road. I’m not going to get into reviewing any of these films, but I do want to say a few words on Slumdog, an audience favorite.
Slumdog Millionaire strikes me as a clear favorite, at least as far as average movie goers are concerned. I’ve yet to meet someone who would dare suggest that Slumdog is anything less than very good. My friend Karle expressed some concerns to me that he felt as if the film’s strong finish makes up for some flaws early on, leading to a situation where the viewer’s impression of the film is largely made up of the good feelings brought on by the conclusion. This is not entirely wrong way of thinking, but I’m also willing to forgive the films flaws for what truly is an epic and outstanding conclusion. In fact, I saw something that Inever see during my screening: As the film concluded and the credits began to roll, everyone stood up and started to leave, at which point this really energetic and, well, victorious dance sequence began. Literally the entire theater stopped moving towards the door and returned to their seats, completely transfixed. It was kind of shocking and anyone who goes to the movies with any regularity knows that the credits are easily (and I suppose appropriately) the most ignored part of any movie going experience. Not with Slumdog. The dance/credit sequence doesn’t add anything to the film’s narrative or to your understanding of the film, it’s not a coda meant to impart greater meaning upon the film as a whole. It’s simply a celebration of success, of underdog achievement. To reference a familiar trope, it’s Rocky ascending the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, pumping his arms into the air.
To return briefly to the aforementioned flaws, however, one thing constantly stood out: The torture scenes. They’re early on, but they feel remarkably out of place in such an otherwise tight package. They also lend a bizarre inconsistency to Irfan Khan’s character, the police inspector interrogating the slumdog himself about how he could possibly succeed at a trivia game show. I won’t say anymore, but I’m very curious how much people buy the arc Khan’s character ultimately t akes as the movie progresses. For me, it stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise remarkable film.
