Review of Philomena (2013) by Jordan K — 19 Nov 2015

Philomena has a keen sense of character development and succeeds well in a movie consumed with and hungry for character backstories. The story is only a recollection gathered over time and it suffers through slight boredom through its first half.

An elderly and extremely religious woman named Philomena Lee teams up with a snarky BBC journalist to track down her lost son, taken from her by nuns against her will in her teen years.

Philomena is a sweet, feel good film. It's hard at times not to love the characters. Dench does such a charming performance and Coogan is always phenomonal as well. As mentioned before, the film loves character development and serves as a fine example on how to buildup a character history. The buildup to Anthony Lee's life is compellingly captured in bits and pieces and revelations appear as time goes by. The story suffers, as mentioned before as well, from slowness from the start and a series of brief on and off interviews with Martin and somebody. It can either be very engaging and funny or very dull and slow. The first half, until the characters go to the US, is particularly slow. Philomena's backstory is pretty dark and dull, albeit essential to the true story, feels odd in a very uplifting atmosphere. Philomena knows how to ace certain aspects and doesn't for others, but ends up appealing and warm for even the most grumpy of viewers.