Slumdog Millionaire Toilet Scene

Camera angles:

A low angle shot of Jamal coming from inside the hole its self is used to show the decision Jamal must make. He has been put on the spot and must decide whether or not to jump into the pile of feces beneath the hole. The low angle of Jamal standing over the hole, holding a photo of his favorite actor (the reason he is wanting to escape) is showing how important this actor is to Jamal. This made a huge impact on the scene by showing the struggle but determination of his final decision.

After deciding to jump through the hole and walking through a crowd covered in feces, he manages to acquire an autograph on the photo which he had kept in his pocket. A circling mid shot had been used to show the excitement and expression on Jamal’s face. The way that he is holding the photograph above his head with out stretched arms shows how much this means to him and how he looks up to the actor.

Sound:
There are clear background noises from the people and other cars while the two brothers and a man are talking. The banging of the next toilet stall over’s door shutting is clear, but quiet enough to hear the three speaking. The faint sound of helicopter propellers from throughout the scene starts to increase getting louder and louder, soon followed by a man screaming the name of Jamal’s favourite actor. After a clip of the actor’s work, the sound of the helicopter has increased immensely and you can tell by listening to the swarm of screams coming from villagers that the helicopter is about to land.

Pace:

The pace of this scene is the typical slow with a build up towards the end. It starts with Jamal and his brother Salim at the village toilets just going by their business. It speeds up the tiniest bit when Salim gets a “customer” and tries to hurry Jamal out of the toilet, which Jamal does not agree with. After realising the overcoming helicopter is carrying Jamal’s favourite actor, the pace increases. After Jamal realises his brother has locked him in the stall for “losing his customer” the pace quickens again in his struggle and hurry to get out. It then calms down a little when Jamal is trying to decide whether it is worth jumping in to the pile of faeces.