An incredibly emotional, yet unbalanced, journey

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2017)

I'll start by saying that I'm an incredibly emotional person myself, which means I'm capable of feeling great empathy for most of the characters on screen, but this time I could clearly hear the whole crowd in the projection room crying their hearts out, or at least feeling sad for that little, genuine and brilliant kid played by Sunny Pawar, whose first performance on screen was pure gold.
The first half of the movie would deserve a solid 9, with a rhythmical and powerful editing, mostly long shots (which will most likely make you want to visit India right away) and the tough, indifferent and unscrupulous reality Saroo finds himself fighting against. A strong journey of survival and nostalgia, filled with moments of pure disgust and decay as well as moments of relief and hope.
The second half, tho, is barely comparable to the first one. The script gets slightly weaker, even tho Dev Patel - whose accomplished maturity is unbelievable - is incredibly real and fragile in a wonderful performance, as long as the classy and subtle Nicole Kidman. Rooney Mara is a short, but very pleasant, add to a great cast. Saroo's search for his biological family is way slower and way less powerful than the tough struggle for survival in the first part. But in the complex, Garth Davis' debut on the big screen is more than successful, and the suggestive cinematography, with a wonderful soundtrack and a genuinely good story, make this movie more than recommended.
7/10 is a democratic average between first and second half of the movie.