It is always an interesting time of year from film releases in the UK. There is always a nice mix of the big film-makers and the independent ones.
This particular film seems to be a bit of both. While it is a directorial debut and the film-makers seem to be independent based, the cast is pretty stellar.
I must say, that for a directorial debut, you would think director Garth Davis had been doing this for years. It is a terrific piece of work in what is a very emotional true story.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this, and the first act manages to grip you pretty much straight away. One thing that surprised me was the heavy use of visual story-telling. That seemed to be a masterful stroke, and I wish more films did that as it shows how powerful the silent films were at story-telling.
There is a bit of a lull towards the second act. However, it still remained enjoyable enough by the time the emotional finale comes around.
While the cast has many big names, the start of the show is Indian youngster Sunny Pawar. He instantly shines from the opening scene and was nothing but phenomenal. In fact, I felt he carried the film much better then any of the seasoned pro's involved.
As for the big names Dev Patel is as versatile as ever, and Nicole Kidman gives strong added emotion when the second act arrives and it is probably her best performance in quite some time. Rooney Mara's presence is always a welcomed for me and the performance as is as good as it could have been. It was great to David Wenham on screen, as I feel he is not in enough film roles.
There are only a couple of things from the technical side that I wanted to mention. The cinematography is fantastic. With a lot of the film shot in India, it really does not spare any expense. While it may show some dark truths of India, it is still shot so beautifully.
Also the score by Dustin O'Hallaran and Hauschka was well suited to the tone of the film.
The only negative I had with it as the lull in the second half that I mentioned earlier. It does gradually lose steam and at times becomes a big corporate message for a particular product. But thankfully, it still did enough for me to still really enjoy it.
I was very impressed with this feature, and I can now see why it is likely to be lined up within the Best Picture nominations at this years Oscars. I must mention how great Pawar is again. He is probably the strongest image you will have stuck in your head after seeing this.
The story is the stuff film-makers dream of, the performances are consistently strong, the visuals are both beautiful and emotional and the whole experience is suitable for families.
I was amazed to see that this was rated PG. After seeing the film, I can see why. It would be great to see kids go and see it, as I think they could learn a lot from this film. However, I must warn parents as I feel it is only aimed for older kids as there are many dark and emotional moments.
To see this as his directing debut is staggering. I am now excited to see what Davis does with his next feature, which is apparently the story of Mary Magdalene.
There is a very good song in the credits, and it is being sung by Sia. 2016 has certainly been a busy year for her as she as also done end credit songs for The Neon Demon and Finding Dory. There are also some touching images being shown during those end credits, and it is worth staying for.
Rating: 8/10
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