Slumdog Millionaire.
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
Beat Out: Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Well-known quotes: "I thought we'd be together only in death" "What the hell can a slumdog possibly know?" "God is great!"
The overall story is so unique, so greatly conveying a powerful message. No one actor proves to be the "star," instead they all take a back seat to the message and work together to tell the amazing story. I love movies like that.
This movie is a unique kind of love story, filled with flashbacks highlighting the life of Jamal (played by Dev Patel). The concept of this life story is to explain how Jamal knew all the answers to the questions given to him on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
The concept of this movie should already be able to draw viewers in because it's different, and a sort of breathe of fresh air.
As the movie moves through each question, we see Jamal's life unfold, as pivotal moments of his life are the reasons for his knowing the answers. For example, the third question asked of Jamal is "What weapon does Lord Rama hold in his right hand?" His reasoning for knowing the answer comes with the story of his mother's death.
As the story unfolds we learn about the two most important people in Jamal's journey: his older brother, Salim (played by Madhur Mittal) and his childhood love, Latika (played by Freida Pinto). For most of his childhood the three struggle to survive, with no parents and no means of food or shelter. However, Jamal is separated from the two when Salim gets involved with the wrong kinds of people and betrays Jamal, leaving him on his own and taking Latika. This betrayal explains why Jamal knows the answer to question 6: "Who invented the first commercially-successful revolver?"
Jamal and Latika's love story is what you're rooting for in the end. You're anxiously waiting for their reunion and when you finally get it, you're anxiously waiting for their happy ending. His love for her is so genuine and pure, you never really question it. Along the way you hope to see the fallout between Salim and Jamal. Even though Salim is the reason for most of the movie's angst and problems, the portrayal of the character shows his humanistic side, his internal struggles.
In the end, the whole story comes full circle, with the present time and the flashbacks finally meeting at a single point, the point of Jamal's last question. The question, having to do with the names of the three musketeers connects back to when Jamal and Salim were young children in school. They considered themselves to be 2 of the musketeers, never knowing the name of the last one because they never had a third member. Jamal desperately wanted a final member, while Salim did not. Jamal always saw Latika as that third and final member, so she unknowingly being his phone call for help with the last question, is so meaningful and symbolic.
The uniqueness of the story presented here is, what I think, makes this movie best picture worthy. It stands out from your normal love story...from your normal movie. It's message is perfectly conveyed through the story and the characters. And, I mean in the end there's an awesome music video to a song that will be stuck in your head for days. Well done, Slumdog Millionaire.