Lion (2016)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

129min

Genre:      Fact-based, Drama

Director:   Garth Davis

Cast:        Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman…and more

Writers:    Saroo Brierley, Larry Buttrose, Luke Davies

-Synopsis-

Biographical drama based on the true story of Saroo Brierley; a poor 5-year-old Indian boy who was separated from his family and became one of India’s many street children a thousand miles from home, only to be adopted and raised by a loving family in Australia, but who then embarks on an odyssey to track down his lost family over 25 years later.

After building a hugely successful career directing commercials, then transitioning into documentaries and television; Aussie director Garth Davis makes a hugely impressive feature film debut, capturing the emotional core of an extraordinary true story and crafting the rarity of an unapologetically touching tearjerker which is never sentimental or clichéd.

‘Lion’ is a story and a film split between two eras of “Saroo”; the first as a young boy living in poverty in central India, brilliantly played by young Sunny Pawar, who becomes separated from his older brother and stuck on a non-stop train to Kolkata. There he becomes a lost street child with no knowledge of his family name or hometown, or even the ability to speak the language, only to be declared an orphan and miraculously adopted by a foreign family.

The second era is that of adult “Saroo”, played by Dev Patel, a typical modern young Aussie raised in Tasmania by his loving adoptive mother “Sue” (Nicole Kidman) and father “John” (David Wenham). But when persistent vague flashbacks of his past begin to conspire with a sense of guilt about his fate, and the pain of his lost family not knowing what happened to him; “Saroo” begins to develop an unhealthy all-consuming obsession with tracing his roots, by using patchy visuals from his memory plus Google Earth and some good old mathematics.

At first glance it’s tempting to compare this film to 2008’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, sure there’s the clear parallel of an Indian street-child drama with striking visuals, plus the Dev Patel factor of course. But ‘Lion’ is a drama with a very different energy from Danny Boyle’s gritty life-affirming Mumbai fairy-tale; anchored by its true story foundations, this is a deeply moving unconventional family drama, heartbreaking at times but ultimately an uplifting story of mothers & sons and that unbreakable bond, plus the universal theme of finding belonging.

Dev Patel truly shines in the lead with a more mature and nuanced performance than we’ve seen so far, and in a role which may yet overshadow the “Slumdog” legacy to become a career-defining one. While Nicole Kidman sinks her teeth into her most emotionally meaty role in a decade and Rooney Mara is her usual steady self as “Saroo’s” girlfriend “Lucy”. But young Sunny Pawar sharing “Saroo” duty really steals the show here, delivering an incredibly emotive yet restrained performance for someone so young, and on his acting debut to boot.

The film is beautifully shot with vivid stunning nature photography of Tasmania and the unique and contrasting visuals of modern urban India, all captured by cinematographer Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Foxcatcher), whose work everyone will soon know with the imminent December’s release of the much anticipated ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’.

It’s a difficult balancing act to keep a film this packed with love and raw emotion from spilling over the line into cliché and melodramatic sentimentality, but director Davis does a commendable job keeping the narrative simple and honest, while expertly tugging on our heartstrings without making us feel too manipulated. ‘Lion’ is a touching and uplifting tale, but it’s tinged with no small measure of tragedy and pathos, ultimately this poignant story is a dramatic attention call to the plight of nearly half a million Indian street children, who are rarely as lucky as “Saroo”.

‘Lion’ has already been branded “Oscar bait” by some, thanks to many of the core components which the Academy seems keen to recognise, but man is it tasty and nourishing bait. And even if you’re cynical enough to believe the entire project was conceived and crafted in order to win awards, you would either be a fool, a liar or emotionally crippled if you claim that this simple and touching story failed to move you.

The Bottom Line…

Garth Davis delivers a poised and impressive directorial debut with a deeply moving piece, balancing  a remarkable true story with a poignant but uplifting dramatisation; thanks to two outstanding lead performances of  the central character, ‘Lion’ manages to stay on the right side of melodrama while expertly tugging on your heartstrings and captivating the audience throughout. A simple and touching little drama about mothers & sons and finding your place in the world, with a sobering social message, bound to make waves come awards season.

‘Lion’ is out on the 6th of January in the US and the 20th of January in the UK.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

An Indian slum kid whose extraordinary life experiences on the streets of Mumbai and beyond help him on the quest to win big on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” and attract the attention of his true love in this visceral life-affirming drama.

Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor among others among others.

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