Lion

“This movie explores identity and what it means to be ethnically one thing, but belonging to a different nationality.”

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Title: Lion (2016)
Director: Garth Davis 👨🏼🇦🇺
Writers: Book by Saroo Brierley 👨🏽🇦🇺, screenplay by Luke Davies 👨🏼🇦🇺

Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸

Technical: 4/5

Strong film that successfully depicts an incredible story. The pacing halfway through was slow and overwrought; then again, it made for a great payoff at the end with an effective and moving climax. This film also happened to be my favorite performance of Dev Patel’s, who played Saroo. Overall, an enjoyable film and relatable to anyone with complicated feelings about what “home” means.

Gender: 3/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NO

Women were not the focus of what was mainly a one-man show, but neither were they portrayed poorly. I’ll take off a bit for lack of representation and not passing the simple Bechdel Test, which only requires two women exchanging words that aren’t about a man.

Race: 5/5

The crux of this movie explores identity and what it means to be ethnically one thing, but belonging to a different nationality. Saroo is an amazing vehicle for us to explore the tension between the two, with all the heart-wrenching torment that comes from having an identity that doesn’t slot neatly into society’s norm.

Mediaversity Grade: B 4.00/5

Super enjoyable to watch and a fascinating insight into the meanings of “identity” and “home”. Doesn’t do great on the gender or LGBTQ front, but neither are those issues part of this extremely tight and focused narrative about a man on an international hunt to uncover his lost history.