Three and a half stars
The movie “Philomena” is a powerful new movie on the true
story of a women searching for a son she gave up years ago. Based on a book by
Martin Sixsmith, “Philomena” brings together two people who are both reeling
from problems in their past. One is a journalist who had a very public firing
and the other a women who is haunted by the son she was forced to give up. Judi
Dench gives a powerful performance as Philomena, who is constantly having a
look of pain on her face but also keeps a positive outlook on her faith and
forgiveness of those around her. Martin (Steve Coogan) is a bit more cynical,
as he doesn’t share her faith in the very church, which made her give up her
son. Together they go from Britain to America, trying to figure out what
happened to her son. Steve sees it as a human-interest story at first but along
the way, learns to put away some his snobbery and see things from Philomena’s
point of view.
The film is
directed by the wonderful Stephen Frears, who has directed some very good
movies like “Dirty Pretty Things”, “The Queen” and “High Fidelity”, which is
one of my personal favorites. He does a very good job of shooting this movie,
using real footage of Philomena’s son intercut with the movie. I like how he
didn’t make it overly dramatic and more of just a story about this women
figuring out what happened to her son. Of course, something that has to be
addressed is the role the Catholic Church played in this film. They are the
ones who took Philomena and her son in, when she was young. They are also the
ones who made her give up her son. They do not come off looking good, but I
wouldn’t say this film is anti-Catholic. Philomena is a very good person
throughout the film, and that is in part to her keeping her faith. She is
forgiving.
I like the relationship
she develops with Martin. They together have good chemistry and learn to
understand each other a bit more. Martin gets angry at what has been done to
Philomena. Judi Dench is always good in just about everything she is in. The
pain on her face is very believable throughout the film. Steve and Philomena
start to develop a very deep respect for each other, and there’s a scene
towards the end where Martin finally starts to see things through Philomena’s
eyes and does something very nice.
Nothing in the
movie is resolved, except for the fact that sometimes institutions don’t do
right by their own people. The church that Philomena lived at as a young girl
didn’t do right by her, or her child. They are so stuffy they can’t even get
over the fact that they considered what she did a sin. The film focuses,
though, mostly on bringing these two people together in a kind of understanding
of each other. A comedian, Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote the film’s
screenplay, plays Martin and he does a very good job. He goes from stuffy, and
the audience sides with him at times because we know he is right about the
injustice of what the church did to Philomena and her son.
However,
we also see the world through Philomena’s eyes. She isn’t quite ready to get
angry at the church that separated her from her son. She says in one scene that
she wants to forgive because she doesn’t want to remain angry. Martin doesn’t
quite get why she would forgive. However, at the end, he does learn a bit about
why she needs to move on. Sometimes moving on is the only way people can
forgive. Philomena didn’t do anything wrong, despite what the Church considers
a sin.
It should
be noted, though, that this is a movie that works because of the people who
made it. It’s not a movie of the week. It’s a sad and true story. We may not
walk out of the theater quite understanding in our modern takes on things why
Philomena is so willing to forgive, but we do understand Philomena’s
willingness to move on because of the great performance of Judi Dench. Forgiveness
is easy. Moving on is hard.
