Review of Philomena (2013) by Spangle — 16 Sep 2016

A good blend of tearjerking moments, comedy, and great drama, Philomena is the story of Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an Irish woman who gave birth to a son out of wedlock. As a result, the nuns at her church took her child away and sold him, along with many others, to adoptive parents. Now on a quest to find her son with journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), Philomena is a truly affirmative, moving, and well-constructed true story.

Often times true stories can slack a bit in terms of pace and interest, simply because you can see the way in which the director is constrained and forced to stay to the story. Philomena certainly does not showcase any of this. Instead, director Stephen Frears ably handles this true story that is interesting in its own right, but he does a great job wringing the drama and emotion out of this. As a result, Philomena is not just a film that tells a story of a mother looking for her son. Instead, it is a universal tale of journey and discovery for both Philomena and Sixsmith and a film that has a heart. There is a heart and soul to this film as it passionately tells this tale of injustice.

With truly brilliant performances from Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, Philomena further convinces me that I need to see more of Steve Coogan. I have only seen him sporadically, but that is clearly not enough. Together, they have terrific chemistry and they work together to find Philomena's son and find out what happened to him after 50 years. Dench plays Philomena with incredible class and majesty, as is to be expected for a woman with such dignity and prowess. The scene in which Philomena forgives Sister Hildegard for all of her sins against Philomena is incredibly powerful. The way in which she can forgive someone who wronged her so much is something that we all could learn from. Dench plays the scene to perfection with incredible emotion, yet with equal strength.

The film does a great job not just making me fight back tears, but also dramatically. As the duo try to uncover the mystery, the film is packed to the brim with drama, furthered by the hurdles they must overcome in order to discover the truth. Though cliched in spots in this regard, Frears does a good job executing the cliches and still manages to make it damn near thrilling as they sort through the evidence and find her son. Above all, however, the film is truly emotional, particularly the ending and when Martin discovers the truth about Philomena's son. Frears does a terrific job capturing these moments, while his two leads do a great job capturing the power of those moments and their significance.

Though it may be written off as Oscar bait by some, Philomena is a terrifically well-executed film that is emotional, powerful, and truly dramatic. Telling a deeply compelling real life story, Philomena does its protagonists justice with a film that captures the essence of both of their journeys into the past and into themselves. As a whole, Philomena is a moving film blessed with great acting, directing, and strong dramatic writing.