More reviews of Slumdog Millionaire

Apparently Slumdog won about 9,000 Golden Globe awards last night, including Best Drama, so the internets are all abuzz with it today, which has helped me to stumble upon some other really interesting takes on the film.

See MMW's take on the love interest of the movie, Latika, and the film's overall portrayal of Muslims here.

Also to consider is Manohla Dargis' NYT review, in which her only reservation with the film is with the aesthetics, rather than the politics, of the wonderfully happy ending I wrote about:

"In the end, what gives me reluctant pause about this bright, cheery, hard-to-resist movie is that its joyfulness feels more like a filmmaker’s calculation than an honest cry from the heart about the human spirit (or, better yet, a moral tale). In the past Mr. Boyle has managed to wring giggles out of murder (“Shallow Grave”) and addiction (“Trainspotting”), and invest even the apocalypse with a certain joie de vivre (the excellent zombie flick “28 Days Later”). He’s a blithely glib entertainer who can dazzle you with technique and, on occasion, blindside you with emotion, as he does in his underrated children’s movie, “Millions.” He plucked my heartstrings in “Slumdog Millionaire” with well-practiced dexterity, coaxing laughter and sobs out of each sweet, sour and false note."

And just a final note from me on the film, based on my exploration of these other reviews: I never fail to be amazed at how freaking defensive people can get when someone criticizes art that made them feel good! It's personal...