Lion: real stories made into movies have a knack for being too unlikely to be true; Garth Davis’ film first half, however, seems to be too common an occurrence (but not in the least less interesting because of it). That half is heartbreaking because of how the main character is portrayed by young Sunny Pawar, who is very winning in his role (one that requires of him quite some range). Despite the good work of the cast (Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Dev Patel are all perfectly fine), however, the second half loses steam and drags, not being as engaging; part of the blame there belongs to the editing of Alexandre de Franceschi. Greig Fraser’s cinematography, in particular his framing, is very expressive, filling the film with beautiful images.