MOVIE REVIEW: LION


5/10


It seemed that the difficult childhood of a little Indian boy called Saroo had a happy ending. Adopted by a caring couple from Australia he had everything a child could wish for - a loving family, a proper education and incredible opportunities. But the past still haunts him. The only way to carry on is to find his real family. Will it help to reunite his present self with his old past? Or will it divide him?

Let's get it out of the way now - the main character of LION is a spoilt little brat. This naked truth is carefully masked by many tear jerking moments. Apparently bad things in one's childhood can excuse anything you put others through.

When his past calls out to him, Saroo quits his job, dumps his girlfriend, abuses his brother and abandons his adoptive parents. Then he is sulking in his million dollar ocean view home and is searching for his mommy  on his thousand dollar laptop. How terrible for him!

If you thought that LION will take you on exciting journey through India while Saroo is looking for his family - you are wrong! When the lengthy prologue is out of the way we barely leave Australia, getting endless flashbacks as we follow Saroo wandering the picturesque locations of Tasmania, until the search comes to a sudden and rather disappointing resolution. In one word - anticlimax.

On the bright side, the first thirty minutes or so, which tells Saroo's origin story, are rather entertaining. There's no denying that LION is superbly acted, Dev Patel delivers a perfect Australian accent and there's no doubt he perfectly embodies the emotions and the conflict of his character. A fabulous performance to the bone.

Nicole Kidman showcases her acting skills in the limited screen time she has, but Rooney Mara (my favourite) finds herself at a loss in a role that has given her nothing to work with. She is a real waste and I cannot understand why she accepted the role. Any new comer would have been be ok for that part.

It is a real art to mask the storytelling gaps with such exquisite visuals. LION's cinematographer Greig Fraser (his latest achievement being ROGUE ONE: STAR WARS STORY), does it in spectacular fashion.

Aussie director Garth Davis relies too much on the spectacle (so does Michael Bay), but he manages to get the best possible emotions out of his near perfect cast. I will be looking forward to what he does next.

LION is a competently shot and well acted movie, but struggles with the pacing. It is also as predictable as your next ABC episode of Australian Story. You have seen it a thousand times before. But if you perceived it as something new, LION has accomplished its task.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the f...
Read more

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - t...
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema...
Read more