Philomena: Heartwarming Dramedy, Outstanding Performances

There are certain movies released this year that tug at the heart and linger on for quite some time after the initial viewing. Could it be the phenomenal performances, tight pacing, involving narrative or a perfect synchronization of all three? Director Stephen Frears’ British comedic drama Philomena encompasses the latter. Based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, its film adaptation tells the true story of former political journalist and Labour party advisor Martin Sixsmith, as he is tasked with helping the titular character locate her son after being forced by an Irish convent to give him up during the 1950s. What begins as a simple tale unwinds into something exceptionally thought provoking and witty. Making the journey believable are breathtaking performances from Judi Dench and Steve Coogan who should be on the mouth of many as award season creeps around the corner.

Considering Dench and Coogan serve as the film’s primary vehicle, chemistry between the two is a must. Thankfully, the two compliment each other quite well as the interactions between cynical atheist Martin (Coogan) and religious optimist Philomena (Dench) play out phenomenally. From the humorous initial meeting of the two leads to the evolution of their relationship, both convincingly push the plot forward organically. Coogan effectively portrays a man reluctantly finding himself writing a human-interest story (his particular reason for hating those types of articles are amusing) and dealing with the aftermath of a damaging career mishap.

Though Dench bares a majority of the film’s emotional weight, she delivers a multi-dimensional performance about a women still haunted by the “mistakes” of her past 50 plus years afterwards, yet is strong enough in her faith to find good in even the most mundane aspects of life.  As the story pushes the two leads to America, seeing Philomena’s first time reactions to the Nation’s various ways-of-life are worth the price of admission alone. The scenes of Philomena looking through hotel movie choices, U.S. portion sizes as opposed to Europe, and reaction to her son’s sexual orientation are pure comedic gold.

Running at 95 minutes long, Philomena could have been a messy exercise in longwinded exposition. Thankfully, the film won’t wear out viewers with bloat and outstay its welcome. Flashback scenes involving a young Philomena (remarkably portrayed by Sophie Clark) purposely serve as context to her more religious adult self. Like mentioned above, what initially begins as search mission to an Irish convent and finds them in America before concluding back at the nunnery, Frears’ finally delivers that pacing that rivals his award winning turn for The Queen.

Both Martin and Philomena deal with several serious narrative themes individually and collaboratively. Martin walks the line between journalist stuck between objective neutrality and curious concern for a women abused by religious ideology. Though focused on her search, Philomena deals with the guilt for getting pregnant unmarried, only to be made worse by one fundamentalist Catholic nun, whose cold demeanor unravels an old bitter sexually repressed woman. Though similar themes have been done several times before, there’s a human level that’s grounded in reality. It all makes absolute since considering Martin would later write the book on which the film is based.

With that in mind, I wonder what the real Philomena and those nuns would take to MTV’s 16 & Pregnant.

Philomena is an intricate film of self-discovery, where demons can be tackled in part through the help of unconventional people. A clever film that flawlessly controls all moods, Frears’ direction shines along with Coogan and Dench’s “like fine wine” acting chops.