Five years old and a few miles from home, a young boy named Saroo fell asleep in an idle train car in 1986 while waiting for his brother in central India and woke up in the western city of Kolkata days later, nearly a thousand miles away.
Ultimately adopted by the Brierley family, an Australian family, and raised in Tasmania, Saroo remembered little of what he’d left behind until a simple taste brought him home nearly 20 years later. Triggered by taking a bite of an Indian delicacy, haunting memories of his childhood resurfaced, along with a desire to be reunited with his biological family that was impossible to ignore. Saroo began his search for home.
Directed by Garth Davis and starring Dev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame, “Lion” is based on the life of Saroo Brierley and his quest for home. Other cast members include Nicole Kidman as Sue Brierley, Saroo’s adoptive mother, and Rooney Mara as Lucy, Saroo’s girlfriend. “Lion” is at no lack for star power, and its performers might just be the film’s greatest asset.
Even in a supporting role with limited screen time, Kidman is as striking and memorable as ever, with pathos pouring from her signature smolder. In “Lion,” her portrayal of love is time-wizened and complex, resulting in a performance more powerful and raw than those given in her younger years. In a film where dialogue is limited and silences carry much of the movie’s weight, Kidman’s ability to effuse tear-worthy emotion with the subtlest of expressions makes her the lioness of the production’s talented cast.
Mara, too, bears a part of the burden of the film’s frequent silences well. But, unlike Kidman, Mara adds levity to these moments, a gentle shock-absorbent presence in tense scenes that might have emotionally bubbled over otherwise. Her chemistry with Patel is light, charming and most enjoyably present when they dance together, goofy enough to be laughable yet genuinely warm.
Comparatively, Patel’s performance was good but not as strong as the rest of the cast, serving as more of a vessel for Brierley’s story than actively shaping it. Patel’s real triumph was, after the eight years since “Slumdog Millionaire,” finally crafting a fresh image for himself.
Yet, for its unique storyline and brilliant cast, “Lion” is horribly paced. At a running time of two hours, “Lion” shouldn’t feel long, but it does.
For the first five minutes or so, everything is on track. Audiences are treated to a cinematically pleasing exposition of Saroo’s childhood in rural India, quietly awaiting the real beginning of his tale, the unintentional train ride that would change his life. And, sure enough, the incident unfolds in equal cinematic splendor, complete with jarring angles and choppy camerawork that underscore young Saroo’s terror as he is sped away from home.
Then, “Lion” fails to build upon its own momentum. Rather than cutting to the present to maintain dramatic interest and narrative structure, “Lion,” much like young Saroo, wanders off on its own and does so for nearly an hour before finally moving into the present.
The result is screen time so evenly and uncomfortably divided that it almost feels as though “Lion” should have been two separate films: one about Saroo’s childhood as an orphan and one about his self-discovery during adulthood. Either would have fared better structurally than their combination in “Lion.” And, while the film’s structural defects are ultimately forgivable, the real shame is their detraction from attention that would be better spent on its story.
Awarded at several independent film festivals, “Lion” is already generating Oscar buzz. And, pacing aside, the praise is deserving.
