Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

What are the odds that every question on a quiz show lines up, in order, with a moment from one kid’s life? Slumdog Millionaire doesn’t care, and mostly you won’t either. The coincidences are the whole engine, and they’re a lot. So is the way Latika is written, more prize than person for most of the movie. But Danny Boyle shoots Mumbai at full speed, with handheld cameras, saturated color and A.R. Rahman’s music pushing every scene forward. The kid actors playing young Jamal, Salim and Latika are incredible, and the chase in the opening stretch has pure energy. Dev Patel plays grown-up Jamal as calm and stubborn, which is exactly what the story needs. Anil Kapoor is great as the smug host. It made $378.4 million worldwide on a reported $15 million budget. An 8.3 because it’s a fairy tale built on a hard reality, and it earns its big finish. $2,948 says you shout a trivia answer at the TV this week and act like your whole life led to it.

What works: Boyle’s kinetic filmmaking, A.R. Rahman’s score, and two sets of child actors who carry the first half.

What doesn’t: The plot runs on a stack of convenient coincidences, and Latika is treated more like a reward at the finish line than a full character.

Who it’s for: Anyone who likes a big, swoony underdog story and doesn’t mind a fairy tale that takes a few dark detours.