Slumdog Millionaire

This was fine. A perfectly acceptable movie. I have some issues with it. The story being told in a series of flashbacks that illuminate how Jamal knows the answers to each question on the game show robs the movie of almost any sense of forward progression. There's a question on the show, the cops ask how he knows the answer (because apparently, in this world, if you're poor you must be an illiterate idiot), flashback to a chain of events in his life that shows how he knows, repeat. The sequence of the flashbacks also ties into the sequence of the questions, which feels more than a little conveniently serendipitous. In fact, the whole movie gives off some serious Forrest Gump "hasn't he had the most amazing life" vibes, albeit Jamal's is far more unfortunate and tragic. But I also recognize I'm pointing out the movie's intentional structure as a bug, when it's actually a feature. The story Slumdog Millionaire is telling is about how Jamal went through this miserable life, and how it has benefitted him in the long run through sheer chance. Luck and serendipity are the axis around which this movie turns by design. It may be wholly unrealistic and, from a storytelling standpoint, a series of hard-to-swallow plot contrivances, but that's the point. And, in fact, I give it credit for not being as sickeningly sentimental in its approach as Forrest Gump. So, I can't be mad at being what it is when what it is was intentional. The makers of this wanted a sort-of fairy tale rags-to-riches story by sheer chance, and they made it. But I don't have to think that's a great way to tell a story either. Yes, it does it better than a similar movie, but better is relative, and for me, this kind of story has a low ceiling. I'm not mad it won the Best Picture, it's the kind of syrupy sentimentality Oscar needs every so often. Would I have picked it from the nominees? No. But, for what it is, it's an inoffensive, feel-good (after a parade of badness) story, and it does the job well enough in that regard.