Philomena (2013) Movie Review

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in Philomena

How far would you go to find a child you had to give up? Would you just bottle up the pain, or try to do something about it? If you did ever become reunited, how would you treat those who separated you in the first place? These are the questions that Philomena, a film by Stephen Frears, asks you as it takes you on a journey of hope, forgiveness, and love. The film puts you into the real world of these people, and reminds you that, despite being in even Bond movie since I've been alive, Judi Dench is a truly remarkable actress, and Steve Coogan is equally as good.

"It allows both characters moments of levity, and also moments of brutal honesty and warmth"

The film centers around Martin Sixsmith (Coogan), a former BBC political reporter who is fired and disgraced despite being misquoted and, ultimately, apparently wrongfully terminated. He's down in the dumps about himself, and figures he'll write about Russian History, because he enjoys it. And everyone tells him that is a shit idea. He then comes across Philomena Lee (Dench) a woman who was a part of the Catholic Church, but became pregnant very young from a fling at the local carnival, breaking her oath of celibacy, and forced to work off the debt of birth for the church, while rarely seeing her child. Much to her, and our, horror, the church allows for the child to be adopted by rich Americans, and taken back with them. After hearing this, Martin decides to help Philomena reunite with her son, who she has not seen in 50 years.

The film does wonders traversing the line between drama and comedy, and this is in large part because of the script written by Coogan. It allows both characters moments of levity, and also moments of brutal honesty and warmth. These characters are actually real people, and the script does a good job of transferring their heart into this story, giving us characters to care about and root for. Along with a stellar job on the script, Coogan puts in the best dramatic performance of his career, and is given moments to really stretch his acting range, which he gamely knocks out of the park. It's the type of performance that reminds you how fucking talented everyone in Britain is. Strong work is also done by Sophie Kennedy Clark, who plays a young Philomena in flashbacks, and Michelle Fairley as Martin's cold blooded editor.

"She will make you laugh, smile, sigh and cry in equal measure, all while you keep hoping for her."

But of course, the star of the show is Dench, who is truly wonderful as Philomena. She is the anchor and heart of the film, and Dench (with a lovely old lady Irish accent), gives her best performance in years. Philomena is a woman of God, and despite all the hardship and pain and sadness life throws at her, she does not let her faith waiver, and believes that everything happens for a reason. She conveys so much torment and anguish over the fact that she was torn away from her son, and whether or not he ever thought about her again. She will make you laugh, smile, sigh and cry in equal measure, all while you keep hoping for her.

Overall, the film is really one of my favourite films of the year, and I wish I had seen it before I made my top ten. It is a movie I was hesitant to see, but one I instantly fell in love with. 

Grade: A-