Film Review: Lion

I know, this film has been out for two months and I've only just seen it. Bad film reviewer. I definitely lost credibility points here, but at least I've finally seen it now. So many people have been saying "Oh Janay, you've seen Lion, haven't you?" and then I looked like a complete lemon when I have to say no. 

So, I've seen it now and here is what I thought of it...

First of all, a very special mention to Sunny Pawar who did a fantastic job in the lead role as young Saroo. He is in such a large portion of the movie and he was just incredible. I always have such admiration for child actors anyway, but even more so when they have to act in such scary circumstances. There were some scenes that were difficult to watch (as usual, you won't get any spoilers in my review) and Sunny did a brilliant job in them.

Then we move on to the rest of the cast. Dev Patel was nominated for (and won) a number of awards this season for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and after watching this film I can see why. I always knew that he would be good in this film, I had no doubt about that, but actually seeing him interact with Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara and others just proved that he is such a superb actor. Nicole Kidman was great too although we didn't see as much of her as I thought we would, but it's probably just me thinking that. Saying that, I think Nicole Kidman has the most touching, memorable monologues when she tells Saroo about his adoption. It was beautifully done.

I would love to read the book that this film is based on after seeing this, although that's probably the wrong way of doing things. I usually read the book before seeing the film but I've just not had time to do this one. It is just such an emotional, raw story that I think everyone should experience, whether they read the book or watch the film (or both).

There are some beautiful moments in this film, such as when he arrives in Australia (that's not a spoiler, it shows that in the trailer) but there are some really difficult parts to watch as well. From the beginning I was on edge even though I knew roughly what was going to happen.

Overall, it was a fantastic, heart-wrenching story of love, loss and family. It's one of those Oscar films that is pure brilliance, but you don't feel the urge to watch it again and put yourself through those scary scenes - although Clay hasn't seen it so I'm sure we'll watch it again when it comes out on DVD.

I gave this movie: 

It was just incredible to experience Saroo's story in this way and I thoroughly recommend this film to everyone. I also loved that at the end of the film that they encourage viewers to visit www.lionmovie.com to support a terrific cause. Over 80,000 children go missing in India every year and they are collaborating with extraordinary organisations to support children in India and around the world. You can help make a difference for street children by clicking the link to their website, raising awareness and donating to their cause.