Wednesday, May 10, 2017

'Blu-ray or Bust' - LION

'Blu-ray or Bust'
LION (2016, PG-13, 118 minutes, SCREEN AUSTRALIA/LIONSGATE)


There is a grimness to this tale of hope which, at times, nearly overwhelms you with emotion.  Almost as if it is dictating to you with a strong, closed, bony fist, demanding that you feel a certain way.

You know—kinda like a mom.

LION tells the story of Saroo, a young boy from a teeny tiny little town in India that gets separated from his family.  The first hour of the film is this young boy’s journey from homelessness in the streets of Calcutta to a loving family in Australia.  Based on a true story, the second half of this tale deals with adult Saroo, pining for his home.  Young Saroo, played by the charismatically wonderful Sunny Panwar, is put through the wringer.  Life is not all that kind to the impoverished child, yet he manages to persevere, and usually with a smile on his face.


If mini-Saroo is portrayed with more care and slam-dunk acting skills by a first-time actor who cannot be more than eight years old, you would assume that big-Saroo would be just as good, right?  RIGHT?!?  Don’t get me wrong, Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, CHAPPIE) is a fine actor.  And he does get to smile a few times.  But if the first half of the movie is about hope and survival (based on the performance of a kid named “Sunny”), the second half is a brooding, angry, angsty teenager.  I understand that there is a piece of the older character missing because he has no idea what happened to his real family, but seriously—he breaks up with ROONEY MARA because of it!  Who the hell breaks up with The Girl with the Freaking Dragon Tattoo?!?


First-time film director Garth Davis does a splendid job creating a story with characters you care about (even if Angry Saroo can be an asshat).  The other star of this film (no, not the splendid Nicole Kidman) is cinematographer Greig Fraser (ROGUE ONE, ZERO DARK THIRTY).  He manages to capture the landscapes of Australia and India in such a way that you see through the boy’s eyes, traveling from his home country to an entirely different and alien world.  Whether he is showing you the grand scope of both countrysides, or focusing on something as tiny as a bench at a train station, the visual aspect of this story would not have been as effective with someone else at the helm. 


The special features on this disc aren’t all that special.  I seriously expect more if I am purchasing a film—more than three deleted scenes, some pictures, and a music video by Sia (which seems really out of place here).  But you still need to see this one on Blu-ray, at least to truly appreciate what Fraser does with his cinematographic eyeballs.

Despite my grumblings about the second half, this is a truly effective film.  The dramatic switch in storytelling from the eyes of a child to that of an adult is always a bit of shocker to me when it is accomplished as effectively as it is here.  That is a sign of a good filmmaker.  And an irritating teenage-like persona.  And I ain’t talkin’ about me…

Grade: B+
Special Features: F
Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely


-- T.S. Kummelman



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