Philomena - Movie Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

Based on a true story, this warm drama uses sharp humour to keep from tipping over into sloppy sentiment. It's still hugely emotional, but in a shamelessly entertaining way. And it gives Judi Dench and Steve Coogan characters they can really sink their teeth into as the twists and turns of the real events unfold.

In 2002, cynical London journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan) has just been sacked from his job as a government spin doctor, so his editor suggests he try a human interest story to get back to work. He hates the idea until he meets Philomena (Dench), a retired Irishwoman who was raised by nuns in a workhouse, where she was forced to give her baby son up for adoption some 50 years ago. She'd like to know what happened to him, so Martin accompanies her back to Ireland and then on to America, where the babies were sold. But their search doesn't go as expected, and what they discover is startlingly moving.

As he did with The Queen, director Frears gives the film a gentle, light tone that helps balance the intensely serious subject matter. He also encourages his cast to deliver understated performances, which is especially effective for the usually broad Coogan. And of course Dench is simply wonderful as a feisty straight-talker who isn't thrown by anything she encounters. Gurgling under everything is an astute look at religious heritage: Martin is a lapsed Catholic who can't understand why Philomena still has a devout faith, because of what the church has done to her. And as the story continues, he begins to understand the strength this gives her.

Both Dench and Coogan dig deeply into their characters, using both crisp humour and more introspective emotion to bring out the conflicting feelings. Frears sometimes seems to hurry through the darker moments to get to something happier, but the big revelations along the way carry a strong punch. And there are moments here and there that catch us off-guard with intense resonance, such as when Philomena watches home movies of her son growing up. And what makes the film so powerfully entertaining is the way Frears and Dench let us see all of this through Philomena's relentlessly curious eyes.

Rich Cline

Facts and Figures

Year: 2013

Genre: Dramas

Run time: 98 mins

In Theaters: Wednesday 27th November 2013

Box Office USA: $37.7M

Budget: $12M

Distributed by: The Weinstein Company

Production compaines: Baby Cow Productions, BBC Films, Magnolia Mae Films, Pathé, Yucaipa Films, The Weinstein Company

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Fresh: 158 Rotten: 13

IMDB: 7.7 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Stephen Frears

Producer: Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Gabrielle Tana

Screenwriter: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

Starring: Judi Dench as Philomena Lee, Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith, Michelle Fairley as Sally Mitchell, Mare Winningham as Mary, Anna Maxwell Martin as Jane, Simone Lahbib as Kate Sixsmith, Sophie Kennedy Clark as Young Philomena, Charles Edwards as David, Sean Mahon as Michael Hess, Amy McAllister as Sister Anunciata, Cathy Belton as Sister Claire, Kate Fleetwood as Young Sister Hildegarde, Peter Hermann as Pete Olsson, Charlie Murphy as Kathleen

Also starring: Ruth McCabe, Barbara Jefford, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope