Parents' Guide to Lion

Be prepared to cry -- a lot -- at this wonderfully cast tearjerker about a man who searched for his birth family across a continent, with only decades-old memories to guide him. Director Garth Davis' adaptation of Brierley's memoir starts off strong, with the charming, big-eyed Pawar playing adorable young Saroo. Audiences will audibly gasp at the circumstances that lead to his separation from his family, and there will be (many) tears as he narrowly escapes the grips of people who would surely do him harm. Once Saroo is an adult, Patel takes over as a well-adjusted adoptive son who's flourished in his new family and country but then becomes obsessed with finding out where he's from and what happened to the family who must have assumed he was gone forever.

Although the beginning and the end of Lion are emotional and compelling, there's a period in the middle of the second act when all Saroo seems to do is hang out in front of his computer, searching countless train stations within a 1,000-mile radius of Calcutta. He also pushes away the people who love him -- most frustratingly, his devoted girlfriend (played beautifully by Mara). This is definitely the movie's low point, and it lasts a bit too long, but eventually everything picks up again. Wenham has little to do, but Kidman gives a fantastic supporting performance as the mother of two adopted Indian sons, one of whom (Saroo's brother) has special needs. Without completely spoiling the ending, let's just say you can expect the tears to flow freely as you witness Saroo's complicated joy, relief, and sadness at the end of his long journey.