Lion



 



Hello dear reader. Pull up a chair, park bench or beanbag and make yourself comfortable. What follows is my review of Lion and its ever so slightly sombre overtones. Now, I should say that prior to its release Lion had really done much to win me over. I knew of its existence and if someone had pointed a gun at my head I would have been able to tell you which actors were in it. At least when it came to the main leads but in all honesty its subject matter didn’t really interest me at all. I can’t give you any specific reasons why either. I like India, I like Australians (to a point) and I’m a big fan of films that insert ‘based on a true story’ in their opening credits. All I do know that when it came to Lion both of my feet were firmly planted under the table on the apathy train and were not for moving. I am happy to report that I did go to see it and I can say without fear of contradiction or reprisals that I did actually enjoy it, much to my surprise.

So what is Lion about? Well, it’s a tale of a young Indian boy who, through a series of poor choices and bad luck, finds himself lost on the streets of Calcutta and a long way from home. He is then adopted by an Australian family and its then as an adult we watch him try and discover who he is, where he’s from, how he can find his Indian family and how he can reclaim his Indian heritage.

At the start of the film we are introduced to a small boy called Saroo. At no more than five or six years old he’s already helping his older brother Guddu to try and bring some money into help his single mother. Saroo manages to convince Guddu to let him come out with him one evening. Unfortunately the brothers have to separate and although Guddu tells Saroo to stay where he wakes up later, at the train station where he left Guddu, alone and with no sign of his brother.  Afraid and feeling isolated Saroo goes searching for his brother but after a vain exploration of the surrounding area he ends up on an empty train, exhausted and needing to rest. When he wakes again he finds himself locked inside the train, which is now moving and heading for destinations unknown. And that’s how simply Saroo’s life changes. In the space of twenty four hours he’s travelled over a thousand miles and not only is he unsure of where he is, Saroo, being very young and without the security blanket of his mother & brother, isn’t sure of the name of the village that he lives in either.

Lion is split into two parts. The first third of the film centres on the young Saroo, played, despite his young age, with maturity and precision by Sunny Pawar. It’s not an easy third to watch at times, especially knowing that is based on what actually happened to him as a young boy and what he had to do to survive. Saroo, despite the fact that he’s still in the same country he was born in, in effectively a stranger in a strange land. Not speaking the same language and not having his support network or anyone looking out for him, are just some of the things that just barely scratch the surface of what he has to deal with. The only thing that is a constant and that he can rely on, knowing that it will never change, is that life is hard and will not do him any favours. After some close calls and run ins with some less than commendable people Saroo finds himself in an orphanage and being looked after some staff that don’t really have his and the other children’s best interests at heart. However, it’s whilst at this orphanage that he is picked for adoption by an Australian couple, Sue and John Brierley, played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham respectively. The last two thirds of the film deal with Saroo, now played by Dev Patel, coming to terms with his new life in a new country and his struggle to reconnect with his past. Knowing he has a brother and mother in India and that somewhere within the confines of its borders is the village he grew up in is what basically drives Lion forward. The feeling of wanting to belong and feeling accepted by a culture and a way of life that seems to be ever so slowly slipping away from him, one day at a time.

As I said at the start, Lion wasn’t really a film that I wanted to see and I suspect it will be the same for others too. Its subject matter by definition means that you know there are going to be things you watch that will upset you and Lion isn’t a story that’s been given the Hollywood ‘happy ending’ treatment. There are spoilers I could get into here but I won’t as knowing what you’re about to watch would lessen the emotional impact and water down the journey that Saroo goes on.

Overall Lion is a film that you will remember for a long time. Dev Patel once again proves that he deserves to be a leading man and can carry the emotional weight of this story, squarely on his shoulders and it can be only a matter of time before he is considered a member of the A-List crowd, when it comes to actors. I am reliably informed that the Australian accent Dev uses through the film is pretty near close to perfect and is at times better than Nicole Kidman’s. Lion at its core is a story about loss and understanding how you fit in with the world. A story about being driven almost to the point of self-destruction in an attempt to work out who you are and why you are and the sacrifices you have to make in order to find inner peace. Lion isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but at the same time it isn’t a film about pity and how hard life can be at times. Ultimately Lion is a story about a journey, both physically and mentally and it’s about wanting to belong. It’s not a perfect film, it does have its flaws but I think that’s the point. Art imitating life shouldn’t be faultless and regardless of the journey you go on, it’s where you call home that counts…

Twiiter Review:
Life is may well be a journey but you need to know where home is.
#LostAndFound

 

Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3741834/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNI9o06vqo
http://www.empireonline.com/movies/lion/review/

Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher is a strange film. At its core it tells the tale of amateur wrestling and a man who feels like his money and patriotism can put America back on the map as the central and most dominant country in the sport. 

Mark & David Schultz are real life brothers, played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo respectively. Having both won gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles in their respective weight classes. The story starts with them in training for the upcoming world championships. Mark is committed to his cause and living a reclusive single man lifestyle. A hand to mouth existence in a one bedroom apartment with a kitchenette and a couch for company. His brother David has the home life, wife, played by Sienna Miller and family. The perfect nuclear family, the ground zero of living the American Dream. 

John Du Pont who is acted here superbly by Steve Carell is a man from wealth and privilege. The head of what was at the time the largest chemical company in the world. Du Pont never really lets you see what's going on. His eyes are the only giveaway or tell that even give a glimpse of what he is thinking or contemplating. Like an iceberg, nine tenths of him in always under the surface. He hasn't acquired the social interaction skills that most people develop over time and his general behaviour could be described at best as uncomfortable and at worst as an ambient sociopath. 

Du Pont sets up a training facility for wrestlers at his home called 'Foxcatcher' and flies Mark out with the aim of trying to convince him that together they can conquer all before them and leave a legacy that will never be forgotten. Mark, who was raised by his brother and has never had anything even close to a father figure before, latches onto Du Pont and takes the opportunity that's been presented to him with both hands. Mark also tries to convince David to join him there but he doesn't want to uproot his family and move to another part of the country. However, ultimately over time and the constant offers of money Du Pont puts in front of him, David relents and also ends up at Foxcatcher with his family in toe. 

One of the main reasons I wanted to see Foxcatcher was simply because of Steve Carrel's performance. When I first saw the trailer in November of 2014 it took me well over a minute to realise who I was looking at. Carrel doesn't just steal every scene he's in, he commits grand larceny. I've only ever seen Carrel play one other serious role before but even in Little Miss Sunshine there are comedic moments that lighten the mood. If you do decide to watch Foxcatcher on the basis that you've always liked him as a comedy actor you may come away shocked at what you've seen. It's not often you see anyone given the opportunity to play against type this much. Carell has been given an Oscar nomination for this role here and it's easy to see why. Not since I saw Michael Fassbender in Prometheus have a seen anyone play scary without once having to raise their voice or resort to threats to get what they want. 

It should also be noted that given the right screenplay and a director that knows how to transfer it onto the big screen Channing Tatum can actually act. When he's not being used as generic guns & muscles eye candy in films like GI Joe and White House Down he is actually capable of putting in a performance that would put some established method actors to shame. There is a sequence shot in a hotel where Tatum's character Mark has a mental breakdown, in which he sets about destroying the room he's in. Tatum gets so caught up in the moment that he actually headbuts a mirror which then promptly shatters all over him and the floor. He had not been asked to do his and the mirror in question was not a prop.

Foxcatcher is the ultimate story of absolute power corrupting absolutely.  Du Pont's mother, which takes up hardly any screen time at all is a pivotal role and she must take some responsibility for the man her son has become. Even though the part of the mother doesn't get much time let alone dialogue they have snuck in a real actor to play her. Venessa Redgrave's performance could be summed up in just one word. Cold. She does not approve at all of the time his son is investing in Amateur Wrestling and even goes so at as to call it 'a low sport'. 

John Du Pont does not like being told no. He is used to getting his own way, regardless of the financial cost to himself and the emotional cost to others. For those of you who plan on watching this film I won’t spoil the ending for you but I will say that Du Pont recently died in prison and he was there as a direct result of events depicted in this film. 

This is Bennett Miller’s third foray into directing, having previously given us Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote and Brad Pitt in Moneyball. Whatever he sets his mind to next he’ll be able to pick and choose from the A-list of Hollywood’s elite when it comes to offering them roles and I suspect the A-list elite will be falling over themselves to make sure that there in it. As I said at the start Foxcatcher is a strange film. It’s unlikely to make you laugh. It will most certainly leave you with an uneasy feeling after you’ve seen it and it will make you think about what behaviour people think they can act with when they are of the opinion that money can fix any problem. What it will do however is make you realise what cinema can do when it’s done well. Entertain, make you think and make you forget about the outside world for an hour or two. Put it on your ‘Must watch’ and put it near the top. 

Twitter Review:

Foxcatcher and wrestling. Carell & Du pont. Both pairings are scary, both pairings are history making.

#QuietRage&Combat

Useful Links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1100089/?ref_=nv_sr_1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8361stZ8n0w

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=138696

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4WOqUkJmFQ