Philomena

Philomena (2013) follows an elderly Irish woman looking for the son taken from her fifty years earlier. Philomena Lee became pregnant as a girl and was placed in a convent, where the nuns gave her child to an American family. She was told nothing. Years later a journalist who has lost his job sets out with her to write the story. It is true. Martin Sixsmith is a real journalist and his book is the source. Philomena Lee is real too, and campaigned on similar Irish cases after the film opened. Stephen Frears directed. Judi Dench plays Philomena and Steve Coogan plays Sixsmith; Coogan also co wrote the screenplay and produced. The best thing in it is that the two of them do not fit together. Sixsmith is angry and set against the church; Philomena has kept her faith and is inclined to forgive. The film does not settle in favour of either. It received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Dench. It runs 98 minutes. Good for: adaptations of true stories, two hander road films, and Judi Dench. Less good for: the subject is heavy and the film balances it with comedy, a balance some find too soft. The institution's responsibility is shown but not pressed hard enough.