Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Slumdog angst?

We finally got around to seeing Slumdog Millionaire on Sunday night via DVD. For some reason the movie did not really deliver for me. I know it was a very, very good film, and I feel as if I should have been more moved and affected by it, but the feeling is just not there.

I think the problem is that Slumdog could not decide whether it wanted to be a cultural exploration with a lot of character development, or a gritty portrayal of youth surviving in the world's slums. In the former case, "The Namesake" (touted by me a few posts back) was far superior, and in the latter case Slumdog does not even come close to the incomparable "City of God."

Just sayin....

T.

1 comment:

Lally said...

Gotta disagree brother. But it's all a matter of taste in the end. My experience is if I see a flick everyone touts I'm usually disappointed and if I see one that's been slammed I'm usually pleasantly surprised. But during the awards season I get to see a lot before most people do and haven't heard too much or anything, which was the case with Slumdog and as a result I fell totally in love with it. Not just the acting, which was superb on every level, and the directing that allowed that or caused it, but the camera work and most importantly the story, as I've said before it's as close as any contemporary film has gotten to the old quality story telling tactics of Dickens and the great 19th Century novelists. yes it was part fantasy and part reality and the mix may not live up to the standards set by films that are one or the other, but for my taste, it was and still is (I've seen it again since the first time and was even more impressed with especially the lead actor's performance which I may have missed a little as I was so taken with his leading lady) a totally satisfying movie.
Lal