Most Overrated Film of 2008?

When a film succeeds both artistically/critically and financially, there are always those more than willing to slap the term “overrated” upon it and proceed to tell everyone how wrong they are for loving it. As The Dark Knight, for example, is one of the most commercially successful films of the year, has a 94% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, and has landed on many critics top ten lists, it is certainly a candidate for the title. (I do not share the opinion that this film is overrated.) But there is a more deserving film for title of Most Overrated Film of 2008: Slumdog Millionaire.

Now, I liked Slumdog Millionaire. It is an enjoyable, old-fashioned film with a nifty gimmick: accused of cheating on the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, an impoverished Mumbai orphan, Jamal Malik, must recount his life in order to explain how he knows the answers. That the sequence of the questions exactly mirrors the events in his life is an obvious construct, but is of minor consequence to the overall enjoyment of the film. The major problem with the story is the stacking of the emotional deck: the film surrounds Jamal with villains at every turn, as if the makers don’t have confidence in the audience sympathizing with Jamal without constant threats.

The two main baddies are Maman, who kidnaps orphans and forces them to sing on the streets for money, and Javed, the gangster who holds Latika, the girl Jamal loves. These are villains of the Snidley Whiplash variety who have no characterization beyond them being villains. (Contrast this with Heath Ledger’s Joker or Aaron Eckhart’s Two Face in The Dark Knight). Javed, for example, walks into the house he shares with Latika and berates her, orders food from her, has a temper tantrum while watching a sporting event on television, etc. He is a caricature, not a character. Maman intentionally blinds children to better increase their earning potential. Is there any real challenge here to dislike these guys?

But that’s not enough for screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. It’s not enough that Jamal is falsely arrested for cheating. No, he has to be tortured in the opening scene. It’s not enough that the game show host is an egotistical lout. He must also attempt to mislead Jamal into giving the wrong answer. And then there’s Jamal’s older brother Salim, who alternately protects and persecutes his younger brother. But Salim’s actions feel more like plot functions (time to have Jamal suffer another setback, so let’s have Salim rape Latika) than feeling like a natural part of the story. Salim’s final actions seem wholly contrived and are not at all convincing.

Thus I was never genuinely moved by this film. The film never overcame its artificial constructs and made me forget I was watching a scripted piece. I enjoyed if for its realistic depiction of poverty, its romanticism, its story of the underdog making good. But I did not enjoy, in the end analysis, feeling like I was being pushed instead of being guided.