Movie Review: Philomena's Extraordinary Tale

Hollywood is now awash in movies that are based on or inspired by or prompted in one way or another by true stories.
So we have Argo and The Butler and Captain Phillips and Saving Mr. Banks and Dallas Buyers Club and American Hustle. And now along comes Philomena.
Philomena.
The name was borne by a young 3rd-century Italian martyr whose bones were found in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome in 1802. As it so happens, a cult rose up around Philomena in the 19th century. She became a wildly popular saint and had many devoted followers. As part of that, many little girls at that time were named Philomena.

But then something startling happened. Twentieth-century scholars decided the remains were not those of the Philomena in the inscription and technology found no evidence that she was martyred. In 1961, her feast day was discontinued by the Catholic church and her shrine was dismantled.

And though this new movie is not about "Saint" Philomena it is about a woman named Philomena whose arc of faith in the Catholic clergy (if not the faith itself) seems to follow the same arc (and endure the same fate) as the followers of the original Philomena.

In staunchly Catholic Ireland in the 1950s, women who became pregnant out of wedlock were ostracized and often rejected by their own families. With no place to go and no one to help them, these young women often turned to convents that took them in, allowed to bring their babies to term and took care of them and their children on the condition that they sign over all rights to their babies, give them up for adoption when the time came and agree to work in the convent for a certain number of years. 

Such was the case with Philomena Lee, now 80.

And as actress Sophie Kennedy Clark (who plays the young Philomena in the movie) observes: "These girls were treated like slaves. They worked hard for no money and had no control over their lives and what happened to their children. I think it’s hard for my generation to understand this was how it was then." Indeed it is.

And for perhaps most if not all of these young women, the hurt lingered. It lingered for decades. For Philomena Lee it gnawed at her for 50 years and then she decided to try to find the son that she gave up when he was just a little boy. 

She was determined to find him and that's where British author, broadcaster (and sometimes PR guy)  Martin Sixsmith came in. He set out to write Philomena's story while at the same time helping her find her son.

The journey became the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee and now it's a film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Judi Dench as Philomena and Steve Coogan as Sisxsmith.

Dench and Coogan are quite a pair in this flick. When Dench is polite and deferential, Coogan is blunt and sometimes cynical. When Dench seems startlingly naive, Coogan can be officious and dismissive. When Dench is measured and sometimes even contemplative, Coogan spits his words out with little thought given to consequences.

But Philomena is no little old Irish lady clutching a rosary and hoping to someday meet the Pope. And Dench is just the right actress to give us the rich patina of the fully-formed personality that's required here. She does more with a quick look or one or two words than most actresses do with an oration. Just watch Dench here as she saves a script that sometimes attempts to trivialize her character. And Coogan plays off this very well. His Sixsmith learns from Philomena and his carefully-calibrated evolution is something to behold.

You come to wonder: Is Martin using Philomena or visa-versa?

The journey of Martin and Philomena takes them all the way to Washington DC and back to Ireland where they began. We won't tell you whether or not Philomena actually finds her son or how it all ends but we will tell you that you're likely to be deeply moved by this film -- especially if you're a parent.

The story touches on life, death, faith and some current social and political issues. Of course, it takes more than a few swipes at Catholicism and Catholic clergy (You're not surprised, are you?). And it can't resist a slap at President Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party and conservatives as well. But these are (sadly) now de rigueur for major motion pictures. So, we simply have to file this away under the scourge called political correctness.

Just know that by all accounts the real Philomena  remains funny and warm and has been able to come to closure (if there is such a thing under these circumstances) and lead a contented life. And (the script's political statements aside) that's exactly the way Dame Judi plays her.
To quote Philomena Lee herself: "This is not a rally cry against the church or politics. In fact, despite some of the troubles that befell me as a young girl, I have always maintained a very strong hold on my faith."