The White Tiger - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

The White Tiger is a film that takes us behind the scenes of working class India. It's a sobering look at life for so many people in a part of the world most of us will never get to experience firsthand. But unlike Lion or Slumdog Millionaire, The White Tiger wants to tell a darker story, one that doesn't have such a happy ending. Is this unsettling tale one worth telling?

PROS - The White Tiger takes us through the rise of Balram, played by Adarsh Gourav, who is desperate to climb up the ranks of society and serve his masters with everything he has, no matter the costs. Balram becomes the servant of a young couple, Ashok and Pinky, and besides general cleaning, he drives them wherever they need to go. The acting by almost everyone in the film is very good but Adarsh Gourav steals the show and puts on a truly brilliant performance. As Balram works harder to get where he wants to go in the scheme of things, the movie highlights and criticizes how in Indian society there's a class system that's difficult to break free from. This movie is tackling some difficult topics in how it depicts the treatment of the servants and the discourse surrounding it, these individuals almost constitute slaves in that they're so desperate to keep out of poverty, they'll take all forms of abuse.

The writing in the film is also very solid, and although The White Tiger certainly has it's problems, an engaging plot and story go a long way towards making an enjoyable moviegoing experience. The film moves along at a nice pace, at least through the first two acts, and we're invested in seeing what becomes of the abused and mistreated Balram. With all that The White Tiger is doing right, does it reach the same levels of greatness as Slumdog or Lion?

CONS - The White Tiger is an excellent film but a few things hold it back from really being great. The pacing becomes a problem in the last act of the film. At over 2 hours, there's a few repetitive sequences of events from the finale of the movie that could've been cut. Some of the characters don't feel fully explored and without giving away spoilers, there's just more work that could've been done to have us more invested in the outcome. One character in particular we have no idea what happens to them, they're just gone.

This movie is also not exactly a feel good film, the living conditions and personal hygiene prevalent are harrowing and it's sobering to see things that still exist outside of what we're accustomed. It's not the type of film you'll want to pop in for a casual evening or for a date night flick, as the poster depicts smiling chacters and almost has a Big Sick look to it. The camera work is also not doing much of anything interesting, the film isn't terribly cinematic. With the strikes against it, where does the film stand in the end?

SUMMARY - The White Tiger has many excellent qualities as a film but falls just short of the Lion and Slumdog calibre. But as was mentioned, it leans into the darker side of how to get ahead in the world and system that one is subjected to. It's an interesting and eye opening dive into a world few reading this understand, yet any attempt to expand my world view I consider as time well spent. So give this movie a chance, you may just find this is almost as rare of a film to find as The White Tiger is, they only come around once in a generation.