Slumdog Millionaire

            Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a man who goes onto the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The main actor uses the show to try and contact his long-lost love. He ends up doing better on the show than anyone expects, and wins a million dollars. The authorities arrest him for cheating until he tells them his story and why he knew the answers. Throughout the movie, the director utilizes different points of view, different film stock, and lighting effects to achieve dramatic effects.

Points of View

            Most directors utilize several points of view in their films. In Slumdog Millionaire, there are several good examples of different types. The most common is the objective point of view. This is when you are seeing things like through a window. The scenes of the main character sitting in the chair of the game show and you are able to see the other person and some of the audience is a good example. The movie contains chase scenes where we are looking over the backs of children that are running. This exemplifies the subjective point of view. Indirect subjective points of view are also used when the children are running when we are looking up at them in the slow motion sequences.

Film Stock

            Slumdog Millionaire utilizes both types of film stock. There is the normal or smooth-grain stock. This would be when we see the characters sitting in the chairs of the game show. Another example would be when the character is waiting at the train terminal and sees his love in the crowd. She turns and looks up at him and her face and clothes are extremely sharp and detailed. My wife even made the comment that she looked, “extremely pretty right then!” The films chase scenes utilize the rough-grain film stock. The shots are grainier and less clear. This was used to heighten the sense of drama and also the carefreeness of the boys. 

Lighting Effects

            One of the most notable scenes with lighting effects in on the game show. The whole audience is lit up and then the music and lights change to draw up to only the main character and the host. In the end, the main character is lit up when answering the last question he is also filmed in smooth-grain stock. The scene is switched to his brother who is dark and filmed in rough-grain stock. This gives us a distinct feeling of hope for the main character and the end of his time for his brother. The last scene I am going to talk about is the train station again. When he spots his love in the crowd, the lighting on her is extremely bright and natural when she looks up and smiles. This gave me the impression that all was going to be ok.

            Slumdog Millionaire, like many movies, uses many different techniques to achieve dramatic effect. With changes in lighting and film stock, the audience feels hope or despair. Utilizing several different points of view highlights the affects that the director was trying to achieve. The movie is quite good at displaying the happiness of the boys in stark contrast with their living conditions.