PHILOMENA  3.5***

 

 By the way, Philomena is the name of the lead character in the moved brilliantly played by Judi Dench. ( It sounds more like a STD or a species of fish  ??)

 Philomena is a film  that pulls hard  at your heartstrings.  It's the story of great injustice that was inflicted on young girls some 50 years ago who had the misfortune in society's eyes to become pregnant out of wedlock. It's easy to say it was the fault of the harsh attitude of  the Irish Catholic Church, but that would be like saying that anti-Semitism was all the fault of the Germans. No, this is not a story of the Catholic Church vs. the more caring world, but rather a look back in time to a series of events and cruel attitudes whose ramifications still echo today.

This is the story of one woman, Philomena, as portrayed in her old age by Judi Dench. She is a stoical, quiet, but lighthearted woman who has an undercurrent of great sadness. The story begins with her finally telling her daughter about the son she had at age 18 who was taken from her and sold by adoption  by the Irish Catholic Church 50 years ago. She  admits that she desperately needs to seek him out, "I just want him to know that he was loved." Her daughter is able to enlist a journalist, Martin Sixsmith ( Steve Coogan), who is at loose ends and rather reluctantly agrees to help her in her search using all his considerable skills of a long time journalist.  This is a true story in that there really is a Philomena Lee, whose son, Anthony, was taken from her at age three. And there really is a Martin Sixsmith, the journalist who helped her.  

While the movie has a quite good story, what makes this film so very watchable are the performances. Judi Dench once again proves that she is one the finest working actresses of our age. Her performance is absolutely exquisite. Good bet that she will get an Oscar nomination.. Steve Coogan, as Sixsmith, is also very, very good.   The characters played by  Dench and  Coogan  are something of a very "odd couple".. Dench is remarkable is her role as the simple woman who reads romance novels, gets excited about salad bars, is thrilled with mints on her pillow, and has lived a lifetime with a hole in her heart created by having her young son ripped from her world. Coogan is effectively restrained as the snooty Brit journalist who thinks human interest stories are a waste of time. She has maintained her religious faith and faith in people, while he has long ago given up on God and flaunts his cynicism in most every situation.

 

Philomena is an incredible and heartfelt story. It's sad, yet never overly sentimental. There's some genuinely funny moments, mainly emanating from the contrast between the wide-eyed and refreshing simplicity of Philomena's world view and the weary wryness of Sixsmith.  

 

Clark