Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Slumdog Millionaire ::
by William the Bloody
In India, one of the most popular game shows on television is Who Wants to be a Millionaire? And tonight Jamal Malik, a nobody from the slums, has reached the last question, worth 20 million rupees. Just before the go to the last question, the show ends for time and Jamal will be back the next night to continue playing, however, on his way out of the studio he is grabbed by police under suspicion of cheating. The police ask him how can he have gotten so far on the show? They have lawyers and doctors on, real professionals with a university education who don’t get as far as he did. He must have cheated. It’s the logical solution to how a lowlife from the slums whose current job is to bring beverages to people working for a cellphone call center to make it to the last, and hardest quiz question. After a night of torture Jamal refuses to admit to cheating, so the head officer investigating him sits him down in his office and as they review the recording of last night’s live broadcast, Jamal reveals he knew answers because of certain unforgettable life experiences.
The Good: They way they have the storytelling set up is very interesting. Most of the time it is seeing a question on the show, then a flashback to Jamal’s life to reveal how he knew the answer, and it really is quite brilliant. You never know what sort of trivial information you pick up in your day to day life, especially if you’re out there actually living a real, hard life. The flashbacks are “extended” in that they don’t merely show us how Jamal knew the answers, they also serve as his biography and give us the deep context of each answer. Jamal and his brother are presented very well as real feeling people, doing what they can to adapt and get by, especially after their mother dies. If you are not familiar with the harsh class system or how very poor the poor are in India, this movie will give you a close look, realistic look. I also liked the policeman, who you start out hating, but learn to like the more he learns about Jamal’s life. India became almost like a character in the film as the way these boys grew up feels like it could not possibly have happened anywhere else. The way the boys started out young speaking Hindi and then learning English as they grew was another added aspect realism. I do so like it when films taking place in foreign countries actually have the characters speak their native languages other than heavily accented English. That’s always bonus points. Also, the end credits? Thumbs up!
The Bad: To me, something felt odd about the ending. It just sort of… ended. I dunno, maybe upon rewatching it I’ll get over it.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful look at the harsh life of a kid growing up in the slums who always manages to do what he has to not only to get by, but to find the one person he’s been searching for his whole life. You see how hard it was and he is someone you want to root for.
A+
