Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Movie · 2008 · Drama, Romance · 2h 1m · R · English
Curator score: 8.4/10 (1.6M ratings)
Tagline: What does it take to find a lost love?
A teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".
Ratings:
- Curator score: 8.4/10
- IMDb: 8.0/10
- Letterboxd: 3.95/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
- Metacritic: 84
- TMDB: 7.7/10
Director: Danny Boyle
Production: Celador Films, Film4 Productions
Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Mahesh Manjrekar, Saurabh Shukla, Irrfan Khan, Ankur Vikal, Tanay Chheda, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, Rubina Ali, Raj Zutshi, Jeneva Talwar, Sharib Hashmi, Mia Drake, Shruti Seth, Anjum Sharma
Curator Review
Verdict: A vivid, emotionally direct crowd-pleaser that blends rags-to-riches melodrama, romance, and kinetic filmmaking. Its biggest strengths are momentum, music, and the central love story; its biggest weaknesses are a glossy, sometimes exploitative view of poverty and a few broad strokes in the storytelling.
Best for: viewers who like high-energy prestige dramas; fans of romantic melodrama with a hopeful payoff; people drawn to underdog stories and survival narratives; audiences who enjoy flashy editing and propulsive soundtracks
Skip if: you want a restrained or naturalistic style; you’re sensitive to poverty-as-spectacle storytelling; you dislike sentimental endings or heightened coincidence; you prefer character studies over big emotional sweep
Overview: Danny Boyle turns a quiz-show premise into a breathless life story, using flashbacks, music, and sharp visual rhythm to keep the film moving even when the plot leans on coincidence. The result is a crowd-pleaser with real emotional force: a love story, a survival tale, and a fairy-tale ascent all at once.
Worth noting: Dev Patel gives the film its heart, and the romance with Latika provides the emotional anchor that keeps the movie from becoming pure gimmick. The soundtrack and editing do a lot of heavy lifting, giving the film a sense of urgency and momentum that makes its most familiar beats feel bigger than they should.
Bottom line: That said, the movie’s depiction of poverty and hardship can feel stylized to the point of simplification, and some viewers may find its Oscar-era uplift a little too polished. Even so, it remains an effective, highly watchable piece of mainstream filmmaking with strong audience appeal.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- Danzel Vaughn: the only time you wouldn’t be mad if you called your brother and your girlfriend picked up.
- kennedy: hello? yes, i'd like to report a crime. dev patel is the most beautiful boy i've ever seen...excuse me what do you mean that isn't a crime? i've been attacked
- aaron: dev patel could do the pussycat dolls but nicole scherzinger couldn't do slumdog millionaire
- rebecca: I felt blessed watching Dev Patel dance in the credits
- ksenija: when jamal kissed the scar on latika's cheek as a montage of their life played with that sad music in the background I LOST IT!!!!
Recommended similar titles:
- City of God (2002 · Drama, Crime · 2h 9m · R · Curator 9.7/10 (1.9M ratings))
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- The Lunchbox (2013 · Drama, Romance · 1h 44m · Curator 8.5/10 (137.4K ratings))
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- Lion (2016 · Drama · 1h 58m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (659.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix)
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- Erin Brockovich (2000 · Drama · 2h 11m · R · Curator 7.7/10 (608.5K ratings))
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- Life of Pi (2012 · Adventure, Drama · 2h 7m · PG · Curator 6.9/10 (1.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013 · Adventure, Comedy, Drama · 1h 54m · PG · Curator 5.8/10 (1.1M ratings))
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- Billy Elliot (2000 · Drama, Comedy, Music · 1h 51m · R · Curator 8.5/10 (486.7K ratings))
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- The Kite Runner (2007 · Drama · 2h 8m · PG-13 · Curator 4.2/10 (114.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads)
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Topics: prestige drama, romantic melodrama, coming-of-age, survival story, kinetic editing, uplifting, Mumbai, class divide, 2000s cinema, soundtrack-driven
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/slumdog-millionaire/12405
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Movie · 2008 · Drama, Romance · 2h 1m · R · English
Curator score: 8.4/10 (1.6M ratings)
What does it take to find a lost love?
Overview A teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".
Ratings
Curator score: 8.4/10
IMDb: 8.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.95/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 84
TMDB: 7.7/10
Production Celador Films, Film4 Productions
Cast Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Mahesh Manjrekar, Saurabh Shukla, Irrfan Khan, Ankur Vikal, Tanay Chheda, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, Rubina Ali, Raj Zutshi, Jeneva Talwar, Sharib Hashmi, Mia Drake, Shruti Seth, Anjum Sharma
Curator Review
Verdict
A vivid, emotionally direct crowd-pleaser that blends rags-to-riches melodrama, romance, and kinetic filmmaking. Its biggest strengths are momentum, music, and the central love story; its biggest weaknesses are a glossy, sometimes exploitative view of poverty and a few broad strokes in the storytelling.
Best for
viewers who like high-energy prestige dramas
fans of romantic melodrama with a hopeful payoff
people drawn to underdog stories and survival narratives
audiences who enjoy flashy editing and propulsive soundtracks
Skip if
you want a restrained or naturalistic style
you’re sensitive to poverty-as-spectacle storytelling
you dislike sentimental endings or heightened coincidence
you prefer character studies over big emotional sweep
Overview
Danny Boyle turns a quiz-show premise into a breathless life story, using flashbacks, music, and sharp visual rhythm to keep the film moving even when the plot leans on coincidence. The result is a crowd-pleaser with real emotional force: a love story, a survival tale, and a fairy-tale ascent all at once.
Worth noting
Dev Patel gives the film its heart, and the romance with Latika provides the emotional anchor that keeps the movie from becoming pure gimmick. The soundtrack and editing do a lot of heavy lifting, giving the film a sense of urgency and momentum that makes its most familiar beats feel bigger than they should.
Bottom line
That said, the movie’s depiction of poverty and hardship can feel stylized to the point of simplification, and some viewers may find its Oscar-era uplift a little too polished. Even so, it remains an effective, highly watchable piece of mainstream filmmaking with strong audience appeal.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Danzel Vaughn (4★) · 4309 likes
the only time you wouldn’t be mad if you called your brother and your girlfriend picked up.
kennedy (4★) · 3786 likes
hello? yes, i'd like to report a crime. dev patel is the most beautiful boy i've ever seen...excuse me what do you mean that isn't a crime? i've been attacked
aaron (5★) · 2732 likes
dev patel could do the pussycat dolls but nicole scherzinger couldn't do slumdog millionaire
rebecca (4★) · 2547 likes
I felt blessed watching Dev Patel dance in the credits
ksenija (4★) · 2167 likes
when jamal kissed the scar on latika's cheek as a montage of their life played with that sad music in the background I LOST IT!!!!
Recommended similar titles
2002 · Drama, Crime · 2h 9m · R · Curator 9.7/10 (1.9M ratings)
Fast-moving, street-level storytelling about childhood, violence, and survival with a similarly propulsive visual style.
2002 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 52m · PG-13 · Curator 5.0/10 (348.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Disney Plus
Warm, crowd-pleasing British-Indian crossover energy with romance, family pressure, and an underdog arc.
2013 · Drama, Romance · 1h 44m · Curator 8.5/10 (137.4K ratings)
A tender Mumbai-set romance that finds emotional depth in everyday life and quiet longing.
2016 · Drama · 1h 58m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (659.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix
A moving story of memory, separation, and the search for home, with strong emotional payoff.
2001 · Drama, Romance · 2h 15m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (1.6M ratings)
A mainstream prestige drama that turns personal struggle into an accessible, emotionally sweeping narrative.
2006 · Drama · 1h 57m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (1.6M ratings)
Another crowd-pleasing survival-to-success story built around perseverance and emotional uplift.
2000 · Drama · 2h 11m · R · Curator 7.7/10 (608.5K ratings)
An energetic underdog drama with a strong central performance and a satisfying rise-against-the-odds structure.
2004 · Drama · 2h 6m · Curator 8.0/10 (189.2K ratings)
A journey film that uses travel and hardship to shape a young protagonist’s worldview and future.
2012 · Adventure, Drama · 2h 7m · PG · Curator 6.9/10 (1.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A visually ambitious survival tale that blends hardship, fate, and spiritual wonder.
2013 · Adventure, Comedy, Drama · 1h 54m · PG · Curator 5.8/10 (1.1M ratings)
A glossy, feel-good odyssey about self-discovery, longing, and cinematic momentum.
2000 · Drama, Comedy, Music · 1h 51m · R · Curator 8.5/10 (486.7K ratings)
An uplifting working-class coming-of-age story with emotional clarity and strong audience appeal.
2007 · Drama · 2h 8m · PG-13 · Curator 4.2/10 (114.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A sweeping story of childhood, guilt, and redemption across years and social upheaval.
Topics
prestige drama, romantic melodrama, coming-of-age, survival story, kinetic editing, uplifting, Mumbai, class divide, 2000s cinema, soundtrack-driven
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