The beginning is harrowing and the end is heartbreaking.

| Original Score: 7.8/10 | Jun 6, 2018

I don't think I've ever seen a movie that's this much about the experience of adoption and the relation between adoptive parents and adopted children...it's a rich subject that we don't see much in film.

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Jun 6, 2018

Despite its wavering focus from its fascinating lead to his white supporting actors, this is an inspiring story about one young man's search for identity

| Original Score: 1-5 stars | Apr 1, 2017

If you don't blub at the end, you may wish to secede from the human species.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 23, 2017

A deeply empathetic performance from Dev Patel and an unflinching view of child poverty on the streets of Calcutta provide a winning edge to Lion.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 23, 2017

Google Earth has blind spots and so does Lion. Still, it covers an awful lot of ground and the views are stunning.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2017

Has some pacing issues and an overbearing score, but nothing that isn't erased by the swelling, tear-jerking crescendo of an ending.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2017

Robustly made, but very little to gnaw on.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 20, 2017

This big-hearted film does full justice to the horror, the pathos and the drama of his postmodern odyssey.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 19, 2017

Director Garth Davis and screenwriter Luke Davies throw all the soap suds at the story.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 19, 2017

The film is moving enough in its own terms but lacks the depth and complexity that might have been expected.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 18, 2017

An astonishing true story that's treated with an admirably light and artistic touch, rather than an overly dramatic heavy hand.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 18, 2017

The source material is so rich that it's easy to forgive Lion's small flaws when the film treats its characters with such empathy.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 16, 2017

Crucial to these early scenes is the casting of Sunny Pawar, a marvellously instinctive child actor who gives an indelible performance as Saroo.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 13, 2017

Lion is a beautifully told, uplifting story of courage and determination.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 23, 2016

"Lion" is a complex movie, with its profound themes of home and identity, and its tonally disparate halves. A smartly understated approach to Brierley's story holds it all together.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 23, 2016

Its themes are universal. Everyone has a home, and everyone feels connected to it, no matter how far they travel.

| Original Score: A | Dec 23, 2016

Garth Davis uses close-ups sparingly and hits no false notes; cinematographer Greig Fraser creates a child's perspective by setting the camera at the hero's eye level and conveys the grandeur of India through sweeping panoramic and overhead shots.

| Dec 22, 2016

An exciting, old-school explorer's tale well told (for the most part).

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 22, 2016

"Lion" has one of those plot lines that feels like a Hollywood screenplay - except it actually happened.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 22, 2016