Which OS X Lion features would not be available on a late 2008 MacBook model?
I think your MacBook should support all of Lions features except the gestures as you mentioned. I checked using MacTracker and your MacBook doesn't support the multitouch so you will not be able to use some of the more complex three and four finger gestures.

The only other feature I questioned was Airdrop but a quick search found that Airdrop is supported.

Enjoy!