GOOD
SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
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SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Sheru or Lion is the true story about a boy who lost and found his way back home to rural India from Australia… after 25 years! Now on paper, this idea is ultimately impressive. And not to lie, the emotional journey does pay off rewardingly at the end when the protagonist finally meets his biological mother.
Dev Patel as Saroo Brierley has the most exigent part to play. Fragments of memory from childhood strike and haunt him, both literally and figuratively. He is guilty for having enjoyed a life full of privilege while subconsciously presuming his family has been looking for him high and low all these years. We, as the audience, could see the vast scope of change that has taken place in his life. Moreover, he's also stuck in dilemma between two mothers. Deciding to locate his real family by any means, he navigates through the terrains and tracks in Google Maps while reminiscing his past, based on a smart idea of using passenger train's speed and forming a search radius. The moment he finds Ganesh Talai aka his place of birth, you can't help but tear up alongside him! We could only hope to see a little more of his intricate research process.
Sunny Pawar as Young Saroo is cute! The scene where he imitates a spoon to drink soup is nicely directed! The same can be said about Garth Davis' attempt to bottle the innocence of the kids at dinner table as they learn how to use cutleries! Saroo's relationship with Lucy (Rooney Mara) blossoms too fast, and even if her character is omitted, no changes or impact to the story would be seen. The same can be said about the brother character, Mantosh Brierley (Divian Ladwa) as these are truly unnecessary B storylines. Instead, the focus should have been streamlined on the protagonist. Nicole Kidman as Sue is great though.
The screenplay suffers from the lack of captivating sequences. Most of the initial runtime is dry, barring the horrifying onscreen facts of child trafficking, stray kids and illegal orphanage. Hauschka's and Dustin O'Halloran's background music is glorious and majestic, fitting the theme and quest so well! Greig Fraser's captured astounding images with landscapes, butterflies flood and thumbtacks zooming out from the application are instances.