Are You With Us?
By Shalimar Sahota
April 9, 2009
The Prophets have been running movie Web sites for a dozen years now. During this period, we have engaged in countless debates about movies, oftentimes championing some of the least heralded releases while ridiculing some of the most successful titles in terms of box office. With Are You With Us?, we ask one of BOP's newest writers to watch a film we have either celebrated or mocked in the past to find out whether they agree with us or not. Today's selection, Millions, is a former nominee for Best Overlooked Film at The Calvins. It seems particularly fitting given its director's recent success with a similarly fraternal title, Slumdog Millionaire.
Money left behind from a dead tenant causes three flatmates to behave unpredictably and lose trust in each other. Such was the premise of Danny Boyle's feature film debut Shallow Grave. There are comparisons found in Millions, even a scene in an attic that raises the tension to "hand-on-mouth" levels. It's actually far more interesting, though, to see Millions after Boyle's triumph with Slumdog Millionaire. Look past the Christmas setting and Danny Elfman-esque musical score and you'll discover another modern day fairy tale that works as a companion piece with similarities in characters and themes as well as the odd reference.
After the death of their mother, two young boys, Damien (Alex Etel) and Anthony (Lewis McGibbon) move to the newly built suburbs with their father Ronnie (James Nesbitt). While Damien is playing near a railway line in his cardboard playhouse, a bag of money suddenly falls from the sky! Only Boyle can make a slow motion shot of a hurtling Nike bag played to the sound of Blackout by Muse absurdly beautiful. He shows his brother Anthony, just in case he's seeing things, because with Damien being obsessed with saints, he's been having visions of them, often having conversations with them. Anthony assures Damien that the money is real.
Damien and Anthony are at both ends of the spectrum when deciding what to do with the money. Anthony uses the money to be popular at school (cue sunglasses and friends giving him a lift to school). Damien on the other hand believes the money to be from God and is more concerned about doing the right thing, using it to help people and numerous charities. However, the money will soon be worthless since the UK will be changing currency from the Pound to the Euro. Meanwhile their father gets close to Dorothy (Daisy Donovan), a Water Aid representative who visits the local school, and a mysterious man comes to visit Damien, snooping around his cardboard residence, looking for something.
I found all the "poverty porn" remarks pointed to Slumdog Millionaire rather ridiculous (and anyone getting off on this type of porn should seek medical help). In case you didn't know, there are children in poverty, scraping cash and fending for themselves in the slums of India. As a strange precursor, there are hints of actually doing something about it in Millions. Although the brothers receive the cash effortlessly, Damien actually wants to help the poor with it. There's also Dorothy the Water Aid representative (played straight by an excellent Daisy Donovan), collecting money to provide clean water. And then there's the final two minutes, which I guarantee you will not see coming. The most striking similarity to Slumdog Millionaire is the relationship between the brothers Damien and Anthony, sharing a strong resemblance to Jamal and his older brother Salim, with the older brother often coming to the rescue and taking the fall. To top it all off, there's a moment in Millions where the family is actually watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
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