What
is Philomena? None of us common folk (didn’t make it to the Sundance festival again this year dang it) would know. Do we go
to a show with this title? Take a look at the theater poster above... that’s
not doing much for us either. Nobody’s exclaiming to their buddy after gazing
on that advertisement that “they’ve just got to see this one.” But choose the
most boring looking film on the marquee and you’ve probably got the one with the
most weight - sometimes you’re a better person for seeing it. I think this is
the case with Philomena. A few others think so too… it’s been nominated for
four Oscars in this years Academy Awards including best picture.
Philomena
is a 70 year old Irish women who has kept a secret for a very long time. The
film is based on the true story of Philomena Lee (The Lost Child of Philomena
Lee by journalist (Martin Sixsmth) who, as a pregnant teenager, is exiled
by her ashamed father to a type of convent known as a Magdelene Laundry -
institutions that had been established at the time ostensibly to house “fallen
women”. There Philomena labors and in return receives shelter and care during
her pregnancy. The convent’s nuns deliver her baby son but she is forced to
give up all parental rights. At 3 years of age her son is taken away by an
American family as Philomena watches from afar - gone without trace. All this,
she is told, a penance for her grave sin.
She
reveals her secret nearly 50 years later to her daughter who connects with an
un-employed journalist she hopes can tell her mother’s story and help with the
search for her son. This links Philomena, played with expected perfection by
Dame Judi Dench (M of recent bond films) with journalist Martin Sixsmith played
by comedian Steve Coogan (Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder). They form a
magnificent odd couple - the simple, naive (maybe), and faithful Philomena
juxtaposed with the educated, jaded, and agnostic Sixsmith. Dench’s performance
is poignant - never over the top. Coogan is sharp but not overbearing.
Yes, Philomena is sentimental, it
is a tear jerker… but of course it is, it’s about a mother’s worse loss - how
can it not be? But the sentiment is heartfelt - the kind that feels real
because it is something close to what we’ve all felt - loss and understanding -
at some time. So don’t let the odd name and lack of hype keep you away from
this one - you’ll be a better person for seeing it. Ok, maybe you wont be but
at least you’ll feel something. 8 out of 10.
