'Lion' is a mostly lovely story with some unfortunate lame parts

Lion was the movie from last year's Oscar season that I was really dragging my feet to see, although I am not entirely sure why.

I had nothing against the actors per se, I guess maybe I felt like the subject matter -- involving an estranged Indian man seeking a reunion with his long lost family -- potentially too cornball and faux inspiring.

But the reviews were pretty great -- particularly for Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel (who were both nominated for Academy Awards) -- and I heard another good things from people whose opinions I respect that I wanted to check it out, and so I eventually did.

The first half is engrossing, riveting and consistently surprising. It benefits immensely from one of those most enchanting and luminous child performances I've seen in recent years -- from the then 8-year-old Sunny Pawar as the hero Saroo Brierley. Not only is Pawar incredibly adorable, but he has great, natural instincts on camera, he almost doesn't appear to be acting, so much as existing.

The film is wisely told from his perspective, which can be bewildering and overwhelming. Without spoiling too much, i'll say that under particularly harrowing circumstances he is separated from his family and plunged into potentially perilous and uncharted territory.

Pawar and Patel

This all leads to his eventual adoption by an Australian couple (Kidman is the mother), in a twist that might feel far-fetched if this were not based on a true story.

Kidman gives a warm, moving performance, that coupled with her terrific work on HBO's Big Little Lies, suggests she is entering a strong comeback phase of her late career.

So far, so good. Lion -- for the time being -- avoids becoming a white savior movie, even if the story does involve a white couple taking in an abandoned Indian child.

It's in the film's second half where it lost me a little. To some extent, this isn't entirely the film's fault. The narrative thrust of the second half is telegraphed almost from the start -- this will be about the now grown-up Saroo trying to re-connect with his past.

This portion of the movie is definitely a coming out for Patel as a sex symbol, but he is saddled with a caustic, underdeveloped romantic subplot opposite Rooney Mara (an actress I normally like) that neuters the movie's momentum. Was she there to give white audiences someone to relate to? I'm not sure, but it feels like the movie's focus is pulled in her direction far too much when it's Saroo that we should be and have been invested in.

Their arguments and heart-to-hearts are when the movie starts to feel too conventional and self-important, and it's disappointing because the movie has more than enough powerful elements to hold our interest without them.

At a certain point, you want Saroo to stop moping and get on with his journey of self-discovery. Once Patel finally embarks abroad the film starts to resonate emotionally again, but it takes far too much time to get him there, and far too many shots of him staring intently at a computer screen.

Still, I understand the appeal of this movie and why it won so many accolades. It's an amazing, touching story -- and it's about a culture that is far too often marginalized at the movies, so I definitely applaud it for that.

I do, however, look forward to a period where films centered around Southeast Asian characters aren't necessarily centered around escaping poverty and/or bondage. The upcoming The Big Sick, starring Kumail Nanjiani promises to be such a film. That doesn't mean Lion isn't a worthy film, it's just not a wildly groundbreaking one.

Although that last shot and title cards did get me choked up. I'm such a softie.