In game shows, cheating is not a foreign concept. Credibility was shattered back in the 1950s when producers rigged shows such as Twenty-One and Dotto to keep audiences watching. We still see it pop up today; a contestant on the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was accused of orchestrating a scheme where a friend in the audience would cough to cue him in to the right answers.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is the setting for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. As the film opens, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is one question away from the show’s top prize of twenty million rupees. But authorities are suspicious of Jamal’s success. He’s lived most of his life on the streets and isn’t well educated, so how can he possibly know the correct answers? Is he also a cheat?

Jamal is caught up in an extraordinary circumstance. He happens to know the answers to every question he’s received based on the tumultuous events of his life. The film flashes back to these incidents, most of which involve Jamal, his older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) and his love interest Latika (Freida Pinto). They encounter violence, rugged street life, and separation. Despite his hard road, all Jamal wants is Latika. But the two are kept apart, and Jamal knows that going on the game show is the best way to find her, for she will be watching.

The concept of a life story serving as the basis for answering game show questions is novel; it might appear gimmicky on paper, but the execution is nearly flawless. The film wonderfully weaves between the high-stakes game and the story behind it, and it’s interesting to see such a well-known game serve as an important plot device.

But then again, Slumdog Millionaire isn’t really about game shows. Ultimately, the film is about how the brothers’ lives take different turns based on their motivations. This difference is established early; when a famous celebrity comes to town, Jamal wants desperately to get his autograph, but he is locked in an outhouse. His only escape is through the bottom hole, and into a huge pile of human waste. Undeterred, a feces-covered Jamal hustles through the crowd and gets the autograph. But a short time later, Salim steals the picture and sells it for a profit, infuriating Jamal.

From this point on, we can see the brothers’ differing philosophies. Jamal only wanted the autograph, and he sacrificed some of his dignity to do so. Love drives his actions; when he and Latika get separated, Jamal never stops thinking about her and finding her again. Salim, on the other hand, seeks power wherever he can get it. He befriends thugs and kingpins to get a piece of their action, and is addicted to money and respect. These differences are subtle at first, but become more prevalent as the boys get older.

These grounded character motivations drive the story, and balance out the fantastical circumstance of Jamal’s method for success on the game show. The actors do a wonderful job of fleshing out these personalities, all the more surprising given their relative inexperience. Patel and Mittal have one other project each to their résumé and Pinto is making her acting debut. Yet they each show confidence in their acting, drawing you into their plight.

The biggest misstep with the film has nothing to do with the plot or characters, but rather the rating. Slumdog Millionaire is rated R for “some violence, disturbing images and language.” While these do exist in the film, it is not to such a degree to warrant this harsh rating. A strong majority of the film is clean, and the objectionable material shouldn’t warrant harsher than a PG-13. Perhaps it is because the offensive content involves young children, heightening the sensitivity factor. Regardless, the R rating might lead people to believe the film will be offensive, and that simply isn’t the case.

With its stellar acting and mesmerizing love story, Slumdog Millionaire is already starting to receive some Oscar buzz. Such discussion is well-deserved, for this film is a pleasant surprise leading to December, where overdone dramatics tend to pop up in search of the golden statue. This is movie is for those who like their romantic films without schmaltz or contrivance. It’s the kind of movie that makes you believe in the power and beauty of the human spirit.