Philomena

Based on the true story, Steven Coogan stars as Martin Sixsmith – a former journalist who left the business for government work, and got sacked in a scandal. Now, he’s trying to figure out what to do next with his life, and his dream of writing about Russian history isn’t very lucrative.

Instead, Martin has been convinced to “lower” himself by writing a human interest story, and this one has some interest. Years ago, Philomena (Judi Dench), was a pregnant teen abandoned by her family and left to live and work in almost slave-like conditions at a local convent. She was forced to give the child up for adoption, and he ended up with an American family. Philomena has ached in silence ever since.

However, Philomena reveals this truth to her daughter, and Martin has agreed to work with her to find out what happened to her baby boy. Where he ended up might shock you.

Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena has all of the ingredients of a great movie.

We get intrigue and mystery as Martin puts his investigative reporting skills to use and his discoveries highlight shocking twists and turns.

We get a buddy picture as the two mismatched cohorts travel around from place to place with different views of the world, temperments, taste in literature and more. They are the odd couple.

And, you get to see some great acting, especially Dench as a simple woman who shouldn’t be trifled with. She is amazingly amusing in a lovable way and fills Philomena with kindness and breaks your heart with her big emotional scene.

However, I most loved how Dench tugs at your heart as Philomena shows how much she needs salvation, forgiveness and some sort of recognition. Coogan and Pope include this theme about Philomena hoping the son was looking for her a much as she for him. It’s a desire to be wanted or a justification for her dogged pursuit that adds another texture to the story and Dench’s performance.

Then, Coogan is perfect as the educated, uptight and slightly uppity guy who needs to be grounded. He starts off by showing how emotionally detached Martin truly is as a journalist, but, like the audience, Coogan lets us realize Martin suddenly finds himself more emotionally invested than he wants and the reporter is starting to care for a woman he somewhat looked down upon at the beginning.

Philomena is a great story that doesn’t quite end when you think it would because we go off in a direction that you realize is just as important once you get there.

Philomena is Rated PG-13 for some strong language, thematic elements and sexual references.