AOB2

Reviewing UK Films

Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a British romantic drama film directed by Danny Boyle. Loveleen Tandan co-directed the when the scenes where shot in India, Simon Beaufoy is the screen write. 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' for every question he gets right there is a flashback of his childhood and teenage years and so tells a story of how he knew all the answers to the questions. Slumdog is based on the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup

The conventions of this type of film are going from rags to riches and it ending up all good in the end. Jamal goes from being a Slumdog to a millionaire and he finds the love of his life against all odds. This is common to UK films for example Billy Elliot, wanting to be a dancer but his father wouldn't allow it in the end his dad turns up to one of his dancing competitions and is allowed to carry on dancing.
 

The flashbacks to tell the story of Jamal's journey to be a millionaire, make the film more interesting and keep us interested. The film uses two times one where he is sitting in a room being interrogated and one were he is growing up to his present age. This doesn't give a clear time of when narrative is used to tell the story. Jamal playing to win a million and the story of his childhood. Danny Boyle used actors from Bollywood because they had experience in the type of film he wanted to make, so they could help him with their insight and experience  and because they were not Hollywood actors they would not bring along the baggage of a big personality therefore he could work with them without any trouble and demands. He did not want to make a typical blockbuster film and so none of the actors were particularly well known and Danny Boyle could focus on what he wanted to do.  

Celador produced the film and Danny Boyle wasn't sure whether to get involved as they also made 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' and Danny Boyle didn't think they had the experience or ideas that he did and wanted someone he would get involved with to have. He was impressed with the script from Simon Beaufoy and so decided to put he could work with it. Danny Boyle is known for making interesting stories that are unusual and gripping and Slumdog Millionare is no different to this. Simon Beaufoy visited India in order to write the script 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 Slumdog millionaire is a good British Film this is because I think that it has drama, tension and the fairytale happy ending that I like to see and many others do too. I believe that the audience would not be disappointed by this Danny Boyle film as they know from his previous films 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 a film by Duncan Jones who co-wrote the script with Nathan Parker and stars Sam Rockwell. It is a different type of film as there is only one character throughout the film. There are a couple of voice overs from actors. It is about a man who goes to the moon when he nears the end of a three-year solitary stint another version of him turns up they both beieve that the otherone is a clone. Sam Rockwell was used because he could act like two completely different people which was essential to the persona of each clone. It follows the conventions of a Sci-Fi film in that the use of technology, out of the ordinary concepts and ideas. Moon was filmed in 33 days.

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 denys that anything stange could be going on and the other 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. 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. 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 making 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.