Lion is a true story of a kid who gets lost in the streets of Calcutta, India and is adopted by an Australian family and later finds his birth mother through the use of Google Earth. The kid the director picked to play the kid Saroo, Sunny Pawar plays his part really well. Perhaps picking kids so young is an advantage as they have no fear of the camera at all. Dev Patel then takes over for the second half and is equally good. This movie will really put him in the film makers spotlight. I thought there was a lull in roles for him after Slumdog Millionaire. The best of the performances comes from Nicole Kidman who gives an emotionally brilliant performance as she goes through her journey to adopt and raise Saroo and his brother. The story itself is uplifting and even with the sad story ultimately is a tale of hope. The director Garth Davis deserves praise to get that kind of a performance from his actors especially from the Sunny. The screenwriter should also get credit for adapting a book and story that although sounds gripping but is still a story based on dependence of technology i.e Google Earth.The negative point I saw about the film was that it got a little too by the numbers at some points especially towards the end. There were also points in the movie where Dev Patel fights his brother with mental issues because of how he has treated his mother but that part of the story could have been explored further for the scene to have a more emotional punch.
The movie as a whole is worth watching and will surely lift you up if you are having a bad day :)