AOB2 reviewing uk films

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan. Danny Boyle is a renowned UK director. The main actor is Dav Patel and Freida Pinto and the story is about a boy who goes from rags to riches.  The story starts with Jamal playing ' Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and then continues with a sequence of flashbacks of his childhood and teenage years and so tells a story of how he knew all the answers to the questions.  

The conventions of this type of film are going from rags to riches and getting the girl.  Jamal goes from being a slumdog to a millionaire and he finds the love of his life against all odds.

Slumdog relies upon the use of flashbacks to tell the story of Jamals journey to be a millionaire. The film uses two time scales, one where he is sitting in a room being interrogated and one were he is growing up to his present age. Instead of being a clear linear timeline, narrative is used to tell the story. The film uses parallel narratives to make it more gripping as we follow the questionning by the police, Jamal playing to win a million and the story of his childhood. Different endings are presented as possible. Elipsis is used in the film because scenes of every part of his growing up are not necessary.


Danny Boyle used actors from Bollywood because they had experience in the type of film he wanted to make and because they were not Hollywood actors they would not bring along the baggage of a big personality.  He did not want to make a typical blockbuster film and so none of the actors were particularly well known and Dannny Boyle could focus on what he wanted to do.

Danny Boyle is known for making interesting stories that are unusual and gripping and Slumdog Millionare is no exception to this. Celador produced the film and Danny Boyle was a little uneasy as Celador made 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' and Danny Boyle didn't think they had the experience or ideas that he did.  However, he was impressed with the script from Simon Beaufoy and so decided to revisit the idea.

The screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy made trips to India to interview street children. This gave him an insight in to the life, attitudes and the character of the children living on the streets and therefore help in the making of the film.

Latika, Jamal and Samil are represented as having a bond that brings them together despite the fact that they often break up thoughout the film and at one point Jamal hates his brother. Near the end of the film Salim makes a sacrifice which shows the bond they all share.

In my opinion the audience would enjoy Slumdog Millionaire because I think that it would appeal to their taste of drama, tension and the fairytale happy ending that many like to see. The audience would not be disappointed by this Danny Boyle film as they know to expect a bit of grit, drama and humour with a magical feel to it. This film would not disappoint as it fulfills all of the typical Boyle characteristics.    

 

Moon

Moon is directed by Duncan Jones who co-wrote the script with Nathan Parker and stars Sam Rockwell.  Rockwell is the only character throughout the film, besides a few brief appearances and voice-overs from other actors.  It is about a mining camp on the moon run by clones of a man. Sam Rockwell was used because he could act like two completely different people which was essential to the persona of each clone 

It very much follows the  conventions of a sci-fi film in that the use of technology, out of the ordinary concepts and ideas are first and foremost. 


The film is seen from the viewpoint of Sam Rockwell and it follows his story in every scene. The two clones are characterised quite differently, one has spent 3 years on the moon and is in denial of anything stange going on and the oher is quick to fiqure it out that something is not quite as it appears. Conflict and climax is used to reveal all the other clones. The film gives a sense of conspiracy from the start and throughout and for me this was done by the Robot.

Moon was made on a relatively cheap budget of $5 million as the moon base was made out of wood in a studio. CGI was also used to tint the walls with detail and models of cars were used with fish wire  to pull them along. It was filmed in 33 days. Duncan James grew up watching sci-fi films and wanted to make a sci-fi film of his own.

Duncan Jones started his career by making adverts in a short space of time and on a small budget. This made him suitable for the task of making an independent film on a small budget. He has also worked on mindgame films, which showed in the film Moon. He took a degree in Philosophy and this may have influenced him to make a film that highlighted the moral issue of cloning. Big corporate companies are being portrayed as cold and aviscious.

I liked the film and think that it would appeal to the target audience of sci-film lovers.  Because of it being an art house film it can be as unusual and as interesting as it likes and this makes it more than your typical sci-fi film.  The deeper and complicated storyline would give the film an appeal to non sci-fi enthusiasts. I personally enjoyed this film and would definitely watch it again.