One Man's Journey

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2017)

LION (2016)
Garth Davis's feature film directorial debut is an absolute wonder of a movie. LION chronicles the life of Saroo (Dev Patel), a young boy from rural India who gets separated from his family. The film explores Saroo's journey from the streets of Calcutta to his adoption in Australia, and his journey as an adult to locate his lost home.
LION is a beautifully told and masterful piece of cinema. The film is gripping from start to end with a handful of intense emotional moments that will dampen even the driest of eyes. The first act of the movie follows Saroo as a young boy and is almost 100% without a hint of English and it absolutely works. The viewer is fully immersed into Saroo's world and you feel deeply his turmoil and strife. The film also has an incredible aesthetic appeal that starts with the opening shots and does not let up. The cinematography is gorgeous and the reoccurring piano theme fits the tone and feel of the movie perfectly.
The acting was spot-on. Dev Patel was extremely convincing as was Rooney Mara with Nicole Kidman being the real standout. The Indian actors were lovely as well and held up fantastically against the more mainstream actors. But the movies main focus was Saroo and his physical and spiritual journey. His arc in the film was incredibly moving, especially in the 2nd and 3rd acts.
I only have some minor issues with the film. I felt that Sunny Pawar, the actor who plays Saroo as a child, lacked a little bit and could have been more convincing, and I wish the film developed Saroo and his family's relationship with Mantosh a little more. It felt a little forced and the payoff would have been much greater with just a little more development. But, the most frustrating thing for me were the title cards throughout the film. They were overused and cliché and took me out of the movie. There are ways to explain the passage of time and location without spelling it out for the audience.
Other than those minor grievances, I thought the film was absolutely lovely and wholeheartedly recommend seeing LION in theaters. This has Oscar's written all over it.
Fav. Scene: The dinner scene towards the end of the film
My Rating: 9/10