A powerful and emotional experience

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2017)

Foreign films can sometimes be a trying experience. They can be hard to relate to and appreciate, often through no fault of their own. So when you come across a foreign film that features none of these problems, you know it is something special and must be excellently made. 'Lion' is certainly one of those films. It has deservedly been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and while I don't expect it to compete for the actual win, its still good to see a film like this get the recognition it has earned.
Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman have also both been nominated for Academy Awards in supporting roles. Both were very strong in their roles, without perhaps ever blowing me away. It sounds like Patel fully immersed himself in the role, and the only thing holding him back was probably a couple of very strong scenes that he could show his true acting talents off in. He was strong in every scene he was in, but nothing that was overly memorable. Kidman probably falls into the same category. Consistently strong, but never gets a chance to completely show off the vast talents we all know she has.
The film is very different from what I was expecting going in, however I would have to say that that turned out to be a good thing. The way it went about telling the story actually worked very well. There is a lot of emotion behind the story and the characters, and the fact that this is based on a true story is nothing short of heart-breaking. There's also some terrific pacing throughout and it all results in a fantastic final product. A film not to be missed.