Movie No. 2 of 2014 — Philomena
Dame Judi Dench’s magisterial performance as a woman searching for the son she was forced to give up makes this a gem of a film.
“You’re talking about a human-interest story… I don’t do those… they’re a euphemism for stories about vulnerable, ignorant, weak-minded people.”
So says (former disgraced journalist) Martin Sixsmith at a posh London dinner party, while searching for a glass of Pinot Grigio, as well as a new career direction. It is at this dinner party where he stumbles upon Philomena Lee’s heart-breaking tale: having borne a son out of wedlock almost 50 years ago, she is forced by Catholic nuns to give him up for adoption.
And thus, a hard-nosed atheist journalist from London meets a cheerily devout retired nurse from Ireland, and they go on the road to find her son. The scenes, thus, almost write themselves: repartees about religion and the Catholic Church, awkward situations in public places, and frisson derived from their generational divide, interspersed with, and leading up to, revelations about her child and what became of him.
Despite this predictable template, the excellent direction by Stephen Frears and perfectly calibrated lines (comedian Steve Coogan — who also plays Martin Sixsmith — co-wrote this drama; who knew he could write so well?) instead give us a full-bodied portrait of two characters dealing with the past and their present. The film turns out to be a satisfying odd-couple road-trip comedic drama that’s perfect for a Friday night in.
For a film that (at first glance) promises to be sombre and moody, it actually furnishes a great deal of laughter (which is not that surprising — again, Steve Coogan did co-wrote the screenplay). And most of the lines are actually uttered by Philomena herself: her frank discussion of sex, her naive perspective on things, her insistence on detailing the plots of cheap paperback novels to Martin.
Dame Judi’s performance as Philomena is flawless — emotional without a hint of melodrama, humorous but never slapstick, seemingly foolish yet keenly intelligent. Every facet of this woman (right down to her Irish accent) is displayed with remarkable skill. She’s already garnered more than a few nominations for her work here (both BAFTA and the Golden Globes have her for Best Actress), and it’s hard to discount her as a strong award contender.
The combination of predictability (we know, of course, Martin and Philomena will become friends before the credits roll) with uncertainty (but will we learn what actually happened to her son? Will those who robbed her of her child be served justice?) is surprisingly effective in eliciting that warm, fuzzy feeling that seems to elude us more often these days at the cinema. And this is achieved even while the film raises weighty issues such as clerical abuse, the nature of forgiveness, and familial ties. I found my faith in (mainstream) cinema, as well as other things transcendent, gently encouraged here: so will you.
