Review of Lion (2015) by Grant S — 05 May 2017

Northern India, 1986. Guddu and his younger brother Saroo help out their impoverished family by scavenging anything they can. One night Guddu and Saroo are separated at a train station. Saroo tries to find Guddu but ends up on a train that takes him to Calcutta, 1,600 kms away. In Calcutta he is taken in by a organisation that finds adoptive parents for orphans and lost kids. Saroo is adopted by an Australian couple, the Brierleys, and moves to Hobart, Tasmania. 20 years later he decides to find his mother and brother.

Quite flat for something that should have been enthralling and emotional.

Starts very well - the story of how Saroo was separated from his brother and ends up in Australia is well told and is very engaging.

The movie, however, loses its way in the second act - where the 20-something Saroo first goes to Melbourne and then starts to look for his mother. The plot development here is incredibly padded, filled with empty, superficial melodrama and sub-plots that go nowhere, making for dull viewing. The search itself was interesting, but does not get much screen time and is diluted by the padding around it.

There's also the fact that you know from the trailers and synopsis where this is all going. Trying to create an air of mystery around the course the plot is going to take is pointless when viewers already know the outcome.

It all comes together, eventually. Ending is quite emotional.

Ultimately, okay, but could have been really good with a tighter, shorter middle-to-late section.