Film Review - Lion (PG)

I have to find my way back home.

(I'm trying to spoil as little as possible here of a unique and powerful film experience. If only the same could be said for the trailer...)

So - I've seen two films this week, either one of which is enough to make granite weep. And I'm so not granite. Time permitting I'll talk about the second one later in a few days' time while you can still catch it in cinemas. For now let's stick with Lion - a story that will wring your heart out like a sponge.  

Lion is based on real-life autobiography 'A Long Way Home' and tells the story of Saroo, a five-year-old boy in rural India, who due to a cruel fluke of fate is transported thousands of miles from his home district with no idea how to find his way back. Separated from his family he is forced to survive on his own in 1980s Calcutta - a daunting prospect for anyone, let alone a lost and homeless child. Saroo is played as a boy in the film by novice actor Sunny Pawar, and as an adult by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel; the latter half of the story cuts between the two in memory flashes, creating a seamless sense of one character's life.  

For all its PG certificate, Lion is demanding subject matter and takes its audience into some tough, unsettling places. The opening half hour, charting young Saroo's scary odyssey through Calcutta, is moving and discomfiting by turns, and riveting throughout. Little Sunny Pawar (and he is truly tiny) is a dream of a child actor, his huge eyes catching all the wonder, fear and need of a boy flung into terrifying and bewildering circumstances. The telling of his story is shot and edited to an economic perfection, captured his child's point of view. This is never more powerful than when he is observed searching for a familiar face among the jostling urban masses, while hopelessly far from home.

As for Dev Patel, the promise of his performance in Slumdog is fully realised here. Skinny teenager has developed into strapping adult and Patel's acting has developed some serious muscle too. The grown-up version of the role calls on him to plumb deep emotional reserves and he does so truthfully at every turn. Adult Saroo is caught between the life he is living and emergent memories of the one from which he came, and his anguish at points is palpable. 

The movie's supporting performances are memorable too. Rooney Mara (Cate Blanchett's shop-girl love interest in Carol) adds welcome quirkiness and warmth to proceedings, David Wenham has a likeable charm and Nicole Kidman quietly takes your breath away in a understated yet heartfelt scene of confession. From start to finish the film maintains a sense of gritty emotional truth, blindsiding you time and again with how well it captures the central character's plight. 

Lion is a tale of one man's quest to resolve his own conflict of identity. It's also a testimony to the plight of India's lost children and for that reason alone will move you to tears. Combined with that it's an exquisitely crafted and inventive piece of storytelling, full of both tragedy and elation.

As for the significance of the title, you'll have to wait till the very end. And if you're like me, even that will render you into helpless little pieces. This is a film that very simply needs to be seen.