By the time Lion swings back in the direction of more commanding sentiments, culminating in Sue's affectingly frank description of an adoptive mother's pain, the film appears smaller, more formulaic, than the sum of its parts, though Saroo's return to India is certainly rousing. Despite underusing both Kidman and Rooney Mara, as Saroo's girlfriend, Davis's direction at least gestures at a fuller understanding of transnational identities.
Matt Brennan
November 23, 2016