Lion
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A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
What critics thought
Lion earns broad admiration for Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman's performances and for the raw authenticity of its Indian first half, but critics were divided on whether the film sustains its early momentum — many found the Australian second half significantly slower and less dramatically charged than the opening. The emotional climax drew particular debate, with some seeing it as genuinely earned and others calling it openly manipulative.
“The finale is manipulative in every way, squeezing out the emotions of the audience. But Lion's well-plotted narrative and thoughtful characters suck you in so much that the journey there is totally worth it.”
Brian Truitt·USA Today
“though wrenching, there is barely enough of it to fill the dramatic space, and the second half is a slow and muted affair after the Dickensian punch of the first.”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“one of the things that most impressed me about Lion was the authenticity and truth and unsparing realism of its Indian first half. Every moment of the little boy's journey rings true—not an instant of exoticism—and as a result his plight touches us all.”
Salman Rushdie·Deadline Hollywood
Accolades
Genres
Biography, Drama
Cast & Crew
Garth DavisDirector
Dev PatelSaroo Brierley
Rooney MaraLucy
David WenhamJohn Brierley
Nicole KidmanSue Brierley
Abhishek BharateGuddu
Divian LadwaMantosh Brierley
Priyanka BoseKamla Munshi
Deepti NavalSaroj Sood
Tannishtha ChatterjeeNoor
Nawazuddin SiddiquiRama
Sunny PawarYoung Saroo
Volker BertelmannComposer
Dustin O'HalloranComposer
Greig FraserCinematographyLion
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
What critics thought
Lion earns broad admiration for Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman's performances and for the raw authenticity of its Indian first half, but critics were divided on whether the film sustains its early momentum — many found the Australian second half significantly slower and less dramatically charged than the opening. The emotional climax drew particular debate, with some seeing it as genuinely earned and others calling it openly manipulative.
“The finale is manipulative in every way, squeezing out the emotions of the audience. But Lion's well-plotted narrative and thoughtful characters suck you in so much that the journey there is totally worth it.”
Brian Truitt·USA Today
“though wrenching, there is barely enough of it to fill the dramatic space, and the second half is a slow and muted affair after the Dickensian punch of the first.”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“one of the things that most impressed me about Lion was the authenticity and truth and unsparing realism of its Indian first half. Every moment of the little boy's journey rings true—not an instant of exoticism—and as a result his plight touches us all.”
Salman Rushdie·Deadline Hollywood
Accolades
Genres
Biography, Drama
Cast & Crew
Garth DavisDirectorDev PatelSaroo BrierleyRooney MaraLucyDavid WenhamJohn BrierleyNicole KidmanSue BrierleyAbhishek BharateGudduDivian LadwaMantosh BrierleyPriyanka BoseKamla MunshiDeepti NavalSaroj SoodTannishtha ChatterjeeNoorNawazuddin SiddiquiRamaSunny PawarYoung SarooVolker BertelmannComposerDustin O'HalloranComposerGreig FraserCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy