MOVIE: Slumdog Millionaire

After the Reindeer Run 5k, Milk, Buca di Beppo, and the OGC "Twisted Tinsel" concert, I stopped by the teahouse to catch up on the latest issues of the Watermark and the Orlando Weekly. I saw an ad for Slumdog Millionaire, which signaled to me that it was playing locally. I looked it up and there was a 10:55pm showing at the Regal Winter Park Village 20, and I could make it!

Anyways, the drive up there was easy-going, and I was one of 6 people in the theatre, but of course, there had to be the one really noisy person -- an old guy who resembled Larry Craig in a Dick Cheney-ish jacket. He was there alone and sitting towards the front. His cell phone went off during the film, and he answered it! What old person would have someone calling them near midnight? He also had the loudest-wrapped candy. It was so bad that I got up and moved to the back of the theatre, where I could still hear the crinkling. Dah! It was a mar on the experience.

Anywho, I had really wanted to watch Slumdog because of all the positive reviews and all of it's Best Picture/Best Director wins so far this season. And I do have to say that it is a contender. Even though the movie is somewhat gimmicky in how we follow Jamal (Dev Patel) through his progression of questions on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the culture and story in the movie makes Slumdog standout.

While the movie provides an unapologetic look into some less-than-flattering aspects of Indian culture, such as poverty, religious persecution, and child mutilations, the theme of love and hope that underscores the flashbacks/memories has been said by some critics as being quite timely -- something our nation, in its economic troubles, could use. I was just quite impressed by the casting and how those child actors were able to be put in some of their situations (e.g. literally on a train, etc).

The movie gives its audience a lot of memorable moments and really does transports them to another world. It's high on energy, style, and culture, and it was definitely worth the late showing.