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Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?

A: He cheated

B: He's lucky

C: He's a genius

D: It was written

Slumdog Millionaire is Danny Boyle's magnificent, elating cinematic adaptation of Vikas Swarup's prize-winning 2005 novel Q and A. Boyle's masterwork is simply the essential motion picture of 2008; an exquisite and engrossing filmic experience, infused with a searing portrait of the resilience of human spirit. It's a timeless, Capra-esque tale of adversity and rags-to-riches, told with dazzling passion and stunning visual agility. While housed in a bleak setting inhabited by a congregation of truly vile characters, Boyle's film is almost guaranteed to appease any viewer with a soft spot for beautifully sculpted contrivances. Slumdog Millionaire is a charming, uplifting tale about hope, destiny and love, and it will enrapture those who are willing to venture into its expressively-crafted world. For the record, a majority of the dialogue is articulated in English; however, some large segments are delivered in Hindi. But Boyle - in an utter masterstroke - has handled the subtitles colourfully and playfully, unlike the drab subtitles we're accustomed to reading. Slumdog Millionaire is a feverishly-paced, subtitled picture created with subtitle-phobes in mind. This is a visual and emotional journey that's brash, lively and compulsively enjoyable.

Uneducated 18-year-old Jamal Malik (Patel), a poor orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is poised to win a fortune (a staggering 20 million rupees) on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Defying all odds and expectations, Jamal has managed to answer every question so far correctly, rapidly approaching the top prize (an unprecedented feat in Indian television history). However, some grow suspicious of how a slumdog could be so knowledgeable, and capable of answering the extremely tough questions. Accused of cheating, Jamal is arrested and brutally interrogated by the police. Proving that life experience is far more valuable than education, Jamal is forced to relive his tumultuous early years for the authorities. The result is a flashback-rich tour into the horrors of Jamal's childhood; his episodic memories relating to each seemingly impossible question put to him on the show. A recurring individual in his memories is a certain Latika (Pinto), whom Jamal is in love with but frequently torn apart from.

"A few hours ago, you were giving chai for the phone walahs. And now you're richer than they will ever be. What a player!"

The structure of Slumdog Millionaire - as scripted by Simon Beaufoy (who also wrote The Full Monty) - may be borderline contrived, but the frenetically-told story amazingly submerges a viewer into its universe and produces suspense despite the outcome being quite obvious from the onset. The point of the story isn't whether Jamal will win the money...it's if he'll get his girl. Make no mistake, there's nothing special about the fairly conventional plot, nor the way it's played out. In this sense, Slumdog Millionaire shouldn't be a great film... But it is a great film. Boyle's direction oozes passion at every turn, offering an energy which keeps the film constantly in motion. The setting in Mumbai is another stroke of genius. To the untrained eye, the location is merely window dressing. But with this dressing comes a unique exotic flavour and an open window into a fascinating culture. The story works on multiple levels - it can be perceived as a romance, a thriller, and a glimpse at the ways in which a fast-developing economy is convulsing the fabric of Indian society.

Fresh from a picture which spent almost a year in post-production in order to get the special effects right, the post-Sunshine Danny Boyle was eager to race onto a project which could be shot fast and furiously. Employing his trademark visual frenzy, Boyle ensnares the viewer in the chaotic motion of Indian street life. Filmed predominantly on bustling locations, Slumdog Millionaire whips along with unguarded authenticity and an understanding of those struggling to survive at the impoverished base of a restrictive caste system. The engaging, agile camera turns the narrow corners of the slums and flies at the high speed of a train on which Jamal and his brother hitchhike. Boyle's collaboration with director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle thrusts a viewer headfirst into the chaotic and despairing world of its three youthful protagonists, wonderfully encapsulating both the excitement of children running amok and the relentless terror they experience on the street that's triggered by authority figures on both sides of the law. Production design is absolutely top-notch, emanating authenticity at every turn. On top of the terrific location work, the set for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? could be easily mistaken for the real deal. Not just the set design and cinematography, but the sound effects as well as the traits of the host are also spot on. Slumdog Millionaire simply looks and sounds flawless.

"When somebody asks me a question, I tell them the answer."

Movies that tend to get the Oscar community talking are usually thoughtful, introspective films with a heavy dosage of tragedy. Million Dollar Baby, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Babel, Munich, and Mystic River are examples of Oscar contenders that refuse to leave you smiling once the credits begin to roll. Slumdog Millionaire stands out due to this. It is a movie that draws you in, makes you smile, and ends on an uplifting note. In a way, it's tough to believe a film that commences with such a brutal edge would eventually become so enriching and deliriously joyful. The opening sequence is pervaded with an ominous undertone, featuring scenes of torture taking place in the bowels of a drab police station. But Boyle's continuing sense of humour and decency buoys the moments of darkness and the eventual fairy-tale ending. Scotsman Boyle hasn't travelled to India with the intention of exposing the horrors of the slums at all... He headed to India to shoot an interesting story; one that could only take place in the ever-changing, ever-alive India. The conventional plot may not have succeeded in a more familiar setting. With Boyle's kinetic cinematic energy generating breakneck pace, and the true wonders of an exciting new culture, not to mention the stimulating and vivacious soundtrack, Slumdog Millionaire suddenly becomes sparky and vibrant. It ends predictably, but the journey to its conclusion is consistently extraordinary.

The entire cast shines. From the inexperienced Dev Patel to the veteran Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, talent is omnipresent. Patel is extremely appealing and likable as the protagonist. He's shy and soft-spoken, and we root for the poor little guy from the outset. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar and Tanay Hemant Chheda also excel as Jamal at different stages in his life. Freida Pinto is simply beguiling as Latika. Her chemistry with Dev Patel is extraordinary. Their emotionally-charged performances allow a viewer to become completely invested in their relationship...longing for them to be reunited, and becoming heartbroken when they're torn apart.

Anil Kapoor is remarkable as the smarmy, cunning game show host who patronises Jamal every chance he gets, and whose motives are ruled by his desire for ratings.

Madhur Mittal, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala are uniformly excellent as Salim at different points in his life.

Slumdog Millionaire contains all the necessary elements to ensure it's a winner in general release (although one of the studios set to distribute the film was unsure of its commercial worth and was considering a DTD release) as well as a major Oscar contender. It's superbly acted by an able cast, it's wonderfully photographed, and it's overflowing with rich, unconventional location work. This groundbreaking tour de force has as much heart as it does energy, and it ultimately avoids becoming as formulaic as its premise might have allowed in the hands of a lesser filmmaker. The actors' enthusiasm, coupled with Boyle's passionate exertions behind the scenes, generates pure magic out of Slumdog Millionaire. A story of coincidences, luck and eventually destiny, this is a classic, if slightly clichéd tale, and one that has rarely felt or looked so alive with such astonishing visual flair. Laden with satisfying doses of humour, romance and suspense, Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best and most crowd-pleasing films of 2008, and it thoroughly deserved the honour of receiving the Best Picture Oscar.

"Maybe it's written..."

"I can't live without you. The thought of leaving you kills me. Do you love me?"

The Reader is one of those motion pictures which feels specifically tailored for a December release. An adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's 1995 international bestseller, this is a mature historical drama laced with nudity, compelling themes, suppressed emotion and a few twists. It's quite telling that producer Harvey Weinstein rushed the film's production to ensure its place in the 2008 Oscar race. At any other time of the year, such a movie would frankly feel out of place. Directed by Stephen Daldry (his first feature since 2002's The Hours), The Reader is blatant Oscar bait, but the makers' overconfidence in their product is palpable from the outset...and the result is closer to a near miss than a rousing success. While Daldry's Oscar-nominated film is brimming with emotion and provocative moral ambiguity in the context of a melodrama, The Reader is an unrelenting journey into dreariness and one-note drama with thinly-drawn characters. This is strictly by-the-numbers, conventional Oscar bait which quickly descends into abject boredom. Not skilful enough to be genuinely engaging, and truly lacking in substance, this is a cold fish of a film which falls short of the greatness for which it strives. It's even strangely detached from emotion when it should've been brimming with poignancy. The Reader is not a particularly bad movie per se...it's just an average, boring one. It's frankly bewildering that this film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The mainstay of the story begins in Germany in 1958, when 15 year old Michael Berg (Kross) falls ill on the street and is comforted by a stranger named Hanna (Winslet). Months later, after he overcomes his grave sickness, Michael returns to thank Hanna for her kindness. But the young man finds himself attracted to this older woman who willingly beds the overeager virgin. This brief, sensual, passionate affair combines sex with foreplay during which Michael reads passages of literature to Hanna. It is throughout this section that the film alternates between chapters and sex, sex and chapters. This leads to the inevitable heartbreak when, despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears. Eight years later, and Michael is a student at law school. Through a coincidence barely allowable in a movie like this, his law class is given the chance to witness a Nazi war crimes trial...and Hanna is one of the defendants. Michael figures out a secret which would exonerate his former lover, but is too embarrassed to share it. The story unnecessarily stretches into Michael's adulthood (now played by Ralph Fiennes) when he has become a man plagued by relentless regret and shame.

The Reader is notable for its first-rate performances, the handsome photography, and the elegant music. The preceding praise may sound generic, but so is the movie. Production values are admirable, and everything is brilliantly subdued, but nothing pierces, shocks, engages or challenges. The interesting undertones and themes are occasionally compelling, but for the most part everything interesting dissolves into disconcerting blandness.

If there was any real passion or feeling behind it, The Reader might've felt like more than a mere space-filler on the inexorable march towards Oscar night. Despite the best efforts of the three talented main actors and a competent director, The Reader just lies on the screen demanding the audience to care and engage but never offering them much to grasp onto. Daldry also appears to have a difficult time with the film's tonal shifts. The director makes a peculiar choice to paint Michael's raw sexual awakening on a dull palette of bleached, muted colours. Regardless of all the nudity and constant love-making, The Reader is about as sexy as a brick wall. The tone additionally contradicts Kross' openhearted, wholly amorous performance as the smitten teenager. The picture is also structured in a pointlessly choppy and non-linear fashion, losing momentum and focus once the proceedings move beyond the trial. The segments taking place in the '90s lack the foundation of the preceding chapters. A viewer can understand that as an adult, Michael is still obsessed with Hanna, and his obsession isn't healthy, but that's virtually everything we manage to glean from about 40 minutes worth of film. Ralph Fiennes is a fine actor (who also starred in 2008's In Bruges and The Duchess), but his portion of the film is let down by the screenplay.

Reportedly, The Reader is a predominantly faithful adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's book when it comes to major plot points (and it gets points for it), but the devil is in the details. Intricacies and nuances that exist in the novel and which can be presented in the first-person narrative are absent from this more straightforward motion picture.
The first two thirds of The Reader are by far the strongest. These scenes (which chronicle the affair and the impact the revelations about Hanna's past have upon Michael), provide rich drama and pose some troubling philosophical questions, even if Daldry grossly mishandles the material (why he was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for this film is a mystery for the ages). It has to be said that the slow pace of the film also allows an audience to realise the gaping plot holes. (An illiterate person able to work as a ticket checker on a tram?)

As stated previously, producer Harvey Weinstein forced director Daldry to rush the production. At times, this intensified schedule shows in the finished product. A lot of the dramatic transitions aren't as tightly focused as they should be. The giant leaps between timelines are baffling, particularly the initial transition from 1995 to 1958. Character motivations are seldom explored in David Hare's shallow script (also curiously nominated for an Oscar). The characters are therefore presented merely as two-dimensional caricatures. Hanna is just a horny male's fantasy, while Michael is merely a horny teenager. Both of the aforementioned choose to withhold crucial information in fear of embarrassment. As we can't understand the motivations of the characters, we don't understand why Hanna chooses to face a lifetime in prison when a simple piece of humiliating information could soften her sentence. Crucially, we don't care either. A suicide also happens towards the film's dénouement, but why this character chooses to take their life is unknown. Most of these faults are due to the film's faithfulness to its source material, but this doesn't excuse them.
What does work is the stunning cinematography by Roger Deakins and Chris Menges (the latter coming onto the feature after the production schedule was changed by the producer and the former suddenly dropped out due to scheduling conflicts). The cinematographers were nominated for an Academy Award for their great work.

Both Kate Winslet and David Kross commit unequivocally to their roles. Winslet plays the character of Hanna throughout the entire movie; going through a gauntlet of old age make-up in the process. Winslet's Oscar-winning portrayal of Hanna is note-perfect, but she's unable to overcome the thinly-sketched nature of her character - the actress is adrift with no coherent character to grab onto. Kross and Ralph Fiennes are engaging enough, but the character of Michael Berg isn't much more interesting than Hanna; the transition from callow youth to guilt-ridden man never made clear.
In a supporting role, Bruno Ganz is authoritative as the law professor who poses pertinent questions to Michael about the human condition. Hannah Hertzsprung is also marvellous in the small but pivotal role of adult Michael's daughter. The acting across the board is great, but the contrivance inherent in playing this German tale in English for an international audience detracts from its authenticity. It isn't as affecting as, say, The Lives of Others or Downfall.

The weakest addition to the 2008 Oscar race, The Reader is a plodding, meandering drama plagued by a glacially slow, shallow screenplay. Still, there's enough intelligent material here to make it worthwhile as a meditation about the post-World War II implications of the Holocaust upon the German psyche. It also works as a tale of the tragedy suffered by one man because, at a young, vulnerable stage time of his life, he fell in love with the wrong person. While never making excuses for those who committed atrocities in the Holocaust, The Reader becomes the latest Nazi-related feature to question whether redemption is a possibility for a person responsible for monstrous acts. The stylish cinematography, coupled with Nico Muhly's florid, somewhat overbearing score makes this motion picture seem like the type of movie one ought to take seriously. Don't be fooled by the elegant exterior, though, as The Reader never fulfils its promises of relevance and depth. R.I.P. Anthony Mingella and Sydney Pollack.

"I'm not frightened. I'm not frightened of anything. The more I suffer, the more I love. Danger will only increase my love. It will sharpen it, forgive its vice. I will be the only angel you need. You will leave life even more beautiful than you entered it. Heaven will take you back and look at you and say: Only one thing can make a soul complete and that thing is love."