The loving Saroo's only apparent weakness is an ironical lack of empathy for his empathy-deficient brother.įor Saroo, there is a deep void, one that he feels some responsibility for having created, and without doing all he can to fill it, the creature comforts leave him empty. He does, growing into a charming young man (Dev Patel) whose primary conflict is with a younger adopted brother, Mantosh, also from India, a possible victim of PTSD, Autistic, or both. His new parents, John and Sue Brierley (David Wenham and Nicole Kidman), especially adore the oldest of their “two brown-skinned boys,” as Sue had dreamed of adopting since she was a young girl, and they give him every opportunity to thrive. Through the kindness of one stranger, and the incompetence of the police (unable or too impatient to decipher the off-pronunciation of Saroo's home village), the boy is taken to an orphanage, which a girl rightly describes as a "terrible place." Although it is unclear why, Saroo cannot remain there, and his only option is adoption by a couple living in Tasmania, half a world away.
Saroo's honed street smarts somehow exceed those of the adults who find him, but at the price of months-long isolation under a bridge. Viewers are left to wonder if Saroo will suffer a fate worse than starvation. The movie displays India's profound poverty, with clustered children sleeping on cardboard mats, bait for sexual predators masquerading as concerned adults.
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