Lion is the true story of Saroo Brierley. He’s a five year old boy living in the slums of rural India with his Mother, older brother and younger sister. One day while collecting rocks with his brother near the trains, he gets separated and ends up hundreds of miles away in Calcutta. This is the story of his 25 year journey to get back to his family…

Story: Adapted from the book he wrote with Larry Buttrose, A Long Way Home, Luke Davies wrote the screenplay. Again with this being a true story, there’s only so much deviation from what actually happened. With that in mind, this story unfolds nicely.

The writer captures the feeling of traveling through Saroo’s life with him; We experience the fear and danger when he’s lost as a five-year-old and see the turmoil of trying to find himself as a 25-year-old. And it’s especially gratifying to see the moments when Saroo has revelations about his past.

Performances: Dev Patel as Saroo is very well cast. He captures the emotions of his character’s life and delivers a strong performance. Nicole Kidman plays his adoptive mother, Sue Brierley and David Wenham plays his adoptive father, John. We see more of Nicole Kidman, but, both parents portray a good show of compassion.

Rooney Mara plays Saroo’s girlfriend, but, her performance wasn’t so powerful. All good performances, but, nothing award-winning. If there were an ensemble cast Oscar, this would be a contender…

Visual: This film is a winner in the cinematography category. The director uses the landscape of India to urbanize the story as 5-year-old Saroo navigates unfamiliar terrain. He also does a good job of using some of the beauty of Australia. Costumes and props are spot on as well from India to Australia…

Rating: Lion gets a B+. Before I saw this film, I heard a lot about how heartfelt it is, but, really had no idea what it was about. Subject matter aside, I did really like the moments when Saroo comes to realizations with where he is and what is happening.

This isn’t a film that relies on the subject matter for critical acclaim – It earns it. This is a great film in its pieces-parts and as a whole. If you’re a reader, see the movie first, then read the book. Books always have more detail and this is a story worth experiencing…