In early 2009, I saw Slumdog Millionaire and didn’t think much of it. It seemed clichéd and somewhat silly. I see a lot of films in the theater and it was just another misfire that I would have forgotten quickly. Then, I was told by several people how much they loved the movie. Then, it started winning every award in sight. So, I went back to see it again. I liked it even less the second time. 

One of my beefs with the film is that it doesn’t make sense internally and plays fast and loose with the rules of the TV show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. In Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, there are 15 question (14 since it’s been syndicated). There is even a shot of the board showing that there are in fact 15 questions. In the film, they only show 9 questions. What happened to the other 6? In the show, there are two places that if you reach that level, you keep that amount of money even if you get a question wrong. In the film, Jamal is told he’d lose everything if he got the last question wrong. That leaves out how you know Samuel Colt invented the revolver by having a gun stuck in your face. Granted, the person said it’s a Colt .45. I guess Jamal should be glad it wasn’t a Smith & Wesson.

However, my biggest problem with the film is the character of Jamal in that he is not much of one. Three different actors play him and as often happens when that is required, they don’t seem to be playing the same person. I don’t like many movies about kids and they are in much of the film. They don’t seem to match up and Jamal as an adult is not written as a complete person. I was not drawn into his plight and was therefore bored.

So, why did the film win Best Picture? Well, I think several reasons. The first is, it wasn’t a great year for movies. The films that most people thought were the best of the year were a comic book superhero movie and an animated film about a lonely robot, neither of which were nominated for Best Picture. The other nominees were not all that well thought of. After that year, the Academy changed the amount of nominees for Best Picture that they’ve had since 1944. The second reason is liberal guilt. The number of Oscar winners about people other than white men is small and every few years, someone writes an op-ed about that which members of the Academy probably read. Finally, the previous 2 years saw Best Picture go to violent films directed by great directors who many felt it was time for them to win. Danny Boyle may not have had the filmography of Scorsese or the Coens, but he is respected and sometimes his visual flair camouflages the fact that sometimes the story is not very good.

Other Wins: Director-Danny Boyle
Cinematography
Sound Mixing
Score
Song-‘Jai Ho’
Editing

Other Nominations: Song-“O Saya” (“Jai Ho” won)
Sound Editing (The Dark Knight won)

Other Best Picture Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Reader

As for its win for Adapted Screenplay, Slumdog Millionaire is based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup. The film took the basic premise of being arrested for cheating at a quiz show and having the protagonist tell stories from his life that led him to the answer. All the stories are completely different and the protagonist even has a different name. Verdict: Book

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There are major differences from the book to film, namely that Benjamin is not left on anybody’s doorstep, but grows up in his upper class family. He attempts to go to Yale, but is kicked out because they think he is a 50-year-old crazy person. The film is a Forrest Gump-type (both films were written by Eric Roth) voyage through recent history. Verdict: Film

Doubt was adapted from the play of the same name by the same author, John Patrick Shanley. Since it is written and directed by the same person, it is an extremely faithful adaptation of the play. There are a couple of extra scenes and they attempted to open up the play by doing scenes outside. Verdict: With due respect to Cherry Jones and company, the film has a dream team cast of Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Viola Davis. Film

Frost/Nixon was also adapted from a play of the same name by the original author, Peter Morgan. I have read the play, but not seen the play. The play has narrators who speak directly to the audience. While asides have been a staple of the theater since Shakespeare, this seems awkward to me. Asides tell people’s emotions while this just seems to add extra history, which is what the play is already about. The film takes the narrators and makes them into documentary-style interviews. It flows much better. Verdict: Film

The Reader was adapted from a novel by Bernard Schlink. It is a Holocaust story and coming of age story. Unfortunately, the stories in both the novel and film are completely ridiculous and unbelievable. Verdict: Skip ’em both

Next Month: No Country for Old Men