This has been characterized as a feelgood film. And so it is.
It resides firmly in that corner of movie reality already occupied by Rocky, The Champ, Hoosiers, et al. In short, it's a BIG GAME movie. Will the hero overcome all the obstacles life or the filmmaker has placed in his path and win the big game? Are you kidding?
This is distinctive in that it's set in the slums of Mumbai and the life of a slumdog is truly horrific but it has all the paint-by-numbers requirements of the genre: a really bad guy, morally compromised best pal, and, most importantly...TRUE LOVE (hey, it doesn't happen every day). And, amazingly, everything turns out right in the end. It even features a 3 minute closing dance video with hundreds of bodies gyrating in a parody/tribute to synchronized swim. Ya gotta love this life.
This kind of material has gotten so tired that even the parodies ( The Princess Bride, Movie, Movie ) have gotten old. Yet, people still respond to it. Seems to touch something fundamental in us...maybe it's that hope springs eternal.
I don't bear any ill will toward these films. I just don't want to see another one again. Ever.
This was very slickly done with quick cuts, thumping soundtrack, continuous time jumps...all the features of modern filmmaking. It will almost certainly boost Boyle's career.
3
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