Lion

Up and coming directors can only hope for a powerful story to tell through their directorial debut, but Garth Davis was one of those lucky few, transposing Saroo Brierley’s incredible story A Long Way Home into his first film, Lion.

Saroo (Sunny Pawar) is a young but precocious and adventurous child who looks up to his older brother Guddu (Abhisek Bharate). Saroo wants to work the night shifts with Guddu so he can contribute more to his family, and Guddu reluctantly lets him come along. By the time they’ve reached the train station, Saroo is exhausted and falling asleep. Guddu asks him to wait whilst he tries to find work, but Guddu doesn’t return. 

Searching the nearby trains for his brother, Saroo falls asleep again and wakes up on the travelling, empty train, many miles from wherever his home is. Lost in a faraway city and unable to point the authorities to his local town, Saroo is soon adopted by an Australian couple, Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John (David Wenham). Twenty years later Saroo (Dev Patel) wants to find his family, and one of his University friends tells him about a new program, Google Earth, that might be able to help him in his search.

The biographical films that soar during Oscars season are a bit hit and miss, often too concerned with glorifying a historical personality than telling a unique, incredible story, but that’s certainly not the case with Lion. Told in a linear style - not regularly seen in the modern era of flashback obsessives - we pick up Saroo’s story just before his separation from his family and his devastating experience as a homeless sojourner. The human cost of overpopulation and a very different parental culture becomes evident when he has to spend the night sleeping with other displaced children on sheets of cardboard in the Calcutta train station and narrowly avoids abduction. A sobering passage of the film - underscored by the message of Lion’s final titled card, over 80,000 children go missing in India each year - This first half of Lion is defined by the tragic, Dickensian performance of young Sunny Pawar. Truly if ever there was a child actor deserving of an Academy Award nomination, Sunny is the one.

Saroo’s troubles take a different turn when he’s adopted by a loving Australian couple who he meets in Hobart. Before long we’ve jumped forward twenty years and the now grown-up Saroo finds himself opening up old wounds as he begins his search for his family. The film slows in pace but it’s certainly not the dramatic bottleneck that some critics claim. In many ways the second half of Lion is just as painfully engaging as the first, and if anything the conclusion could have done with more time and space to complete the story without the hint of emotional overreach that somewhat emerges. Otherwise, Lion manages its pace and linear technique in a thorough and satisfying way.

Whilst it’s difficult to meet the challenge that Pawar’s performance sets in the first half, Dev Patel still delivers what might be his best performance to date, and Kidman, who has struggled to match the quality of some of her earlier Roles in recent years, puts all of that behind her with a very strong portrayal as the patiently nurturing Sue. Rooney Mara plays Saroo’s gentle and tolerant girlfriend, Lucy, and continues to firmly cement her position as an awards season regular, whilst David Wenham does what he can with his relatively little screen time. Apart from a slightly jarring wrap-up song from Sia, the gentle and contemplative soundtrack works with the often stunning visuals to bring all of these elements together into a film worthy of its story and of the international audience attention its receiving. 

Lion could have so easily fallen into the bottomless pit of cliched Oscar-bait that we have to suffer through each year, but its writing is so engaging, its performances so enticing, and it's directing so delicate that it certainly does justice to Saroo's riveting odyssey.

Paddington

Paddington Bear is the sort of loveable children's literary character that you thought would have had a dozen movies based on by now, but apart from a few animated series, there is virtually no adaptations based on the character. In a way I am sort of happy that there hasn't because the technology to put him in a live action movie hasn't existed until now.

Paddington (Ben Whishaw), although he doesn't have a name at the beginning, is a bear who lives in darkest Peru with his Uncle Pastuzo (Michael Gambon) and Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton). He is forced to leave for London after an earthquake destroys his home and is told that he should find the explorer who met his aunt and uncle. When he gets to London, he is discovered by the Brown family; Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Sally Hawkins), Judy (Madeline Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), who name him after the train station where they met him. Paddington comes to the attention of Millicent (Nicole Kidman), a taxidermist who thinks he would be a great addition to her collection.

This movie was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. The underlying joke throughout the whole film is that the people of London aren't at all surprised to see a talking bear amongst them is hilarious. They just acknowledge him as they go about their daily business. A lot of the humour comes from Paddington's misunderstandings of "civilised" culture; mistaking toothbrushes for ear cleaners or a fantastic joke about thinking he must have to hold a dog to ride the escalator after seeing a picture sign indicating that dogs must be held when you go on one. There is also a fantastic vintage expedition documentary about the explorer first encountering the bears as a prologue to the film.

There is some great comedy from the actors I least expected it from. I always imagine Hugh Bonneville as a stuffy master of a manor house, but as the risk averse Mr. Brown he sets up some of the funniest jokes of the film. There is also a brief shot of him riding a Triumph Bonneville, which I thought was a great little joke to put in. Sally Hawkins adds some great laughs as Mrs. Brown, but that's what I was expecting given her role in Blue Jasmine. Peter Capaldi is also hilarious although I find it extremely hard to watch him in a role where he isn't screaming obscenities at you, a la The Thick of It. Matt Lucas also has a great cameo and I wish he was in it more. The whole thing was brought down for me with the inclusion of Nicole Kidman's character. Not only was she unfunny, but her character just seemed out of place. I know we need something to happen in the film, but can't we just be content with funny misunderstandings.

Verdict: I'm not a fan of marmalade, but I do like this movie. It's a fun family film with great gags that everyone will love.

Before I Go to Sleep

I went into Rowan Joffé's second feature Before I Go to Sleep assuming that it would actually send me to sleep. The trailer presented me with what seemed like a melodramatic and most-likely uninteresting premise. However, I certainly didn't anticipate the twisting and over-the-top narrative, that would unfold before my eyes over the next ninety minutes.

Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) is an amnesiac that wakes up every morning with no knowledge of anything much beyond her late twenties. Ben (Colin Firth), her husband, has to explain to her over-and-over again that she was involved in an 'accident' and that they have been happily married for years, with an upcoming anniversary that he is preparing a surprise for. Christine receives a call from Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), a neurologist that she has apparently been receiving treatment from - behind Ben's back - and has asked her to record a video every evening before she goes to sleep, to remind her who she is, and anything that she has uncovered about herself and those around her during the day. Dr. Nasch hopes that this will eventually trigger Christine's memories and help her to discover the truth about her past.

Now obviously I can't say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling it, but I can say, that when it's all pieced together, it is utterly ridiculous. Not that a ridiculous plot can't be engaging, and for the most part this is, however, it's also frustrating in the extreme. The story never seems to get rolling before Christine loses her memory and she starts to backtrack, but unlike in similar movies, such as Memento - which this film seems to draw a lot of inspiration from - we aren't really provided with sufficient clues to start piecing it together. It's like an (even more) irritating version of Groundhog Day, but without the fun of Bill Murray. Instead, the audience trudges along, exploring every possible red-herring before getting smashed in the face with a ludicrous, yet somehow still clichéd denouement.

I must say, I've never been much of a fan of Nicole Kidman, but this is quite a superb performance from her. She perfectly conveys the isolation and frustration that engulfs Christine's life. Supporting her, there's Colin Firth, who is about as good as the script allows for his part - although, given the nature of the character, I can't help but feel that he's a slightly unusual casting choice - and there's Mark Strong, who is fairly decent as Dr. Nasch.

One of the more interesting elements of the film is its seemingly aggressive cinematography. The camera becomes a brooding, almost voyeuristic presence in Christine's life, with the closest comparison I can think of being the hotel in The Shining, personified through the camera. Then there's the sound design, which utilises sudden noises to work with the image in creating an unnerving experience for the audience.

I may have spent a whole paragraph rambling on about the ludicrous nature of the plot, but Before I go to Sleep still manages to remain quite an engaging experience. It has great acting from the leads, and the true look & feel of a psychological thriller. Unfortunately though, in this case, seeing is not believing.

The Paperboy

Lee Daniels' follow up to his heart-wrenching Precious is set in the south of Florida in the late 60s, during the time of the Civil Rights movement. Whilst civil rights is not the main theme, they do provide a great background to the motivations of some of the film's characters.

The Paperboy follows idealistic writer Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) and his younger brother Jack (Zac Efron) as they try to clear a man who they believe was wrongly convicted of murder. Helping them are Ward's writing partner Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo), a black British writer, and Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), a woman who writes love letters to convicts. The brothers' father (Scott Glen) is the distributor of the Miami Times in their small town.

The group meet with the suspected killer, Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack), who seems indifferent to the fact that he is on death row, but maintains his innocence. Ward follows up on every single lead but can't seem to find any solid evidence to say that Van Wetter didn't commit the crime. Regardless of this, Yardley returns to Miami and runs the story in the Times. Van Wetter is let free from prison where he reconnects with Charlotte. Ward, who was mutilated by two sadistic men, and Jack are left to their own devices.

Daniels' does his best with a well-rounded cast. McConaghey shines as Ward Jansen and it is good to see him using his southern accent to use. Efron has come a far way from his High School Musical days and gives Jack a confused vulnerability that really works. The main star of this film, however, is Nicole Kidman. She really showcase her range as an actor. Her scenes with Cusack are, while disturbing, are amazing.

John Cusack has long been a favourite of mine and I was excited to see him in this. His portrayal of the villainous Van Wetter is as amazing as it is haunting. You could really believe that he is a murderous psychopath. This is the third film of the year that I have seen David Oyelowo in (the other two being Jack Reacher and Lincoln) and I have to say that he's growing on me. In each of these movies, he plays vastly different characters and I'm looking forward to seeing him in future projects.

Daniels shot this film in 16mm film and it really works. It suits the time period and the occasional blowout of light makes it look fantastic and real (as well as raw). It was a bold choice choosing this format and really pays off.

The soundtrack of this film is also superb. The use of contemporary soul and R&B music really lent to both the time period and setting.

Verdict: Although the story can be a little lacking at times, the drawcard here are the performances, especially from Nicole Kidman.