Review: Lion

Lion is the true story of a 5 year old Indian boy, Saroo, who gets lost on a train, taking him thousands of miles away from his home and family where he must learn to survive on the streets of Kolkata before he is ultimately adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty five years on, Saroo begins a quest to be reunited with his family armed with only his distant  memories and Goggle Earth.
This feature film from first time movie director Garth Davis and starring the impeccable Dev Patel (Oscar nominated), Nicole Kidman (Oscar nominated) and Sunny Pawar as 5 year old Saroo (criminally not Oscar nominated) is an emotional tale of the hardships that faced this young boy (and indeed hardships that are still occurring today) as he comes to terms with separation from his family, homelessness as a young boy, adaptation of a new life in Australia and ultimately his mission to be reunited with the family that he lost all those years ago.
What helps this movie is that it avoids a lot of Hollywood type cliches and it coaxes the tears from the viewer rather than manipulating them. There is also, however a lot of uplifting moments in the film and many come in the shape of Sunny Pawar as 5 year old Saroo. How he didn't get nominated for this performance which is full of mischief, emotion and vigour is beyond me. Honourable mentions also for the strong subtle performance of an ever improving Dev Patel as adult Saroo as well as the ever reliable Nicole Kidman as Saroo's adopted mother.
After seeing this movie, you will leave the cinema and string of emotions will follow. Sadness, happiness, anger  and much more besides. This movie is not just a well acted, well told drama picture, - it is all of those things but also a film of social and moral importance that comes along all too rarely these days that should open the viewers eyes to a bigger world and the problems that exist within it!
Superb.
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