Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Stephen Frears
Quick Impressions:
I’ve been excited to see Philomena. Like a great many people, I adore Judi Dench. And when I saw director Stephen Frears’s The Queen back in 2006, I thought it was the most perfect film since Casablanca. (I’m not saying that either of those is my favorite movie, but I can’t think of any way to improve them.)
Steve Coogan has always seemed very vague to me. You’d think someone vague would make no impression, but Coogan somehow managed to leave a strong impression of great vagueness. Every time he pops up in anything, I think, Oh, it’s him again, that British comedian guy who always turns out not to be anyone else he sort of looks like. Despite the fact that Hamlet 2’s “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” was every bit as rousing as I’d hoped without being even remotely as blasphemous as I’d feared, Coogan has consistently failed to get and hold my attention.
Until now. Coogan not only co-stars in Philomena, he co-wrote the screenplay, and after seeing the film, I have to say, I’m impressed. This is such a fantastic story, and the mere fact that Coogan wanted to tell it changes my impression of him. (The same thing happened for me with Sean Penn after I saw Into the Wild, kind of like, “Oh this is the story you wanted to tell us? Maybe I should start listening to you. I see that you have thoughtful and valuable things to say.”)
In some ways, Philomena reminds me of Nebraska. It’s a road trip with a veteran actor and an actor more known as a comedian. Bruce Dern and Will Forte, Judi Dench and Steve Coogan—on the most superficial level, the films have a lot in common. They also share another common trait. I absolutely loved both of them.
After seeing Philomena this evening, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone but Judi Dench winning Best Actress this year. I’m not knocking the performances of other likely nominees like Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, or Adèle Exarchopoulos. They’re all wonderful and deserving. And I’m not saying that someone I haven’t seen yet might not blow me away. (I mean, I love Emma Thompson and Amy Adams, and it’s been my experience that Meryl Streep deserves an Oscar every year. Ditto Kate Winslet, while I’m on the subject.) But Judi Dench is always good, and she’s so good here in such a wonderful film that as of this evening, I’m rooting for her to pull off a win come Oscar time.
The Good:
It helps that Dench’s character, the titular Philomena, really reminds me of my late maternal grandmother. (My mother constantly says how much Dench herself reminds her of Grandma, but these comparisons must be taken with a grain of salt since nearly everyone on earth—including, even especially, cartoon characters—reminds her of 1) Grandpa, 2) Grandma, 3) My late uncle.)
When I was growing up, my maternal grandparents lived with us a large part of the time. (They also spent months at a time with my mother’s sister’s family.) Meanwhile, my family moved almost constantly. (Seriously, I went to thirteen schools, six elementary, four middle, three high.) Because they lived with us, my grandparents were like a second set of parents to me. Because we moved all the time, my family was my world. As a result, I was deeply shaken by the deaths of my maternal grandparents, and I’m always very drawn to movies like Philomena, films involving senior protagonists and their families.
My grandmother had a lot in common with Philomena Lee. She wasn’t Irish (in terms of nationality), and she didn’t have a baby out of wedlock (that I know of). But she did spend part of her youth being looked after by nuns, and she did have an early teen marriage (that her step-grandfather forced her to annul) that she kept a secret all of her life. Unlike Philomena Lee, my grandmother went to her grave with her painful secret. (Some of us found out, but not from her, and she died unaware that we knew.)
Honestly it moves me to tears thinking of the pain that secret must have brought her. Grandma always stressed the importance of saving oneself for marriage, the wrongness of divorce, values that I’m quite sure were impressed upon her by her Victorian grandparents who apparently did not know what to do with her mother, a disturbed person who “accidentally took too much medicine” (in my grandmother’s words) when she was still a young woman.
The thing that really gets me is that she kept this secret of her first marriage so fearfully. It’s not like she was a public figure, so she must not have told any of us because she feared that if we found out it would change how her own family, her own descendants felt about her. That’s so sad.
Speaking of sad, Philomena is a film that absolutely made me bawl my eyes out. I’m not sure I had any tears left in me as we walked out of the movie theater. It’s a good kind of sad, though. The film is relatable, likable, raw, emotionally resonant, and at the end, strangely satisfying. After watching it, my husband and I stopped at Target to do our last bit of Christmas shopping. As we loaded the presents into the car, I suddenly remembered that I’d forgotten to pick up more Greek yogurt. I ran back in for it, but when I got to the dairy case, I zoned out remembering the movie, remembering the moment when Philomena knocks on Pete Olsson’s door. I’m sure other customers wondered why I was staring down at the Greek yogurt like finding it was the most pivotal revelation of my life (and possibly also mouthing Judi Dench’s lines from that scene). Anybody who noticed me must have gotten the impression that finding that one last carton of black cherry yogurt completed me.
But though it’s sad, the film isn’t depressing. In fact, I found it puzzlingly uplifting. I’m not sure why it left me with such a positive feeling. Philomena is just so charming and sweet and real. She reminded me often of my grandma, and occasionally even of my mother (who also finds Big Momma’s House hilarious and was quite obsessed with it once upon a time).
Judi Dench gives her best performance in years, which is really saying something because she’s marvelous in everything she does. (Maybe it’s her best performance ever, but I’ve never seen Mrs. Brown. Helen Hunt said she deserved to win Best Actress for that, though, and Helen Hunt seems like an honest person to me, so I believe her.) I would imagine that even on the page, Philomena has immense potential as a likable character, but Dench’s resonant lead performance brings her brilliantly to life and makes the movie. I’m not sure that I’ve heard Dench do an accent before, but I thought she made Philomena sound realistically Irish without overdoing it.
(I wish I knew how to pronounce the word Sláinte correctly. The way everybody said it in this movie sounded much different from the pronunciation I thought I correctly learned from Bennigan’s coasters. When I mentioned this to my husband, he said he didn’t notice anyone saying it in the movie. I was like, “Are you kidding? It’s all anybody ever said! They said it like every other word.” I’m sure the truth lies somewhere between our two impressions. I suppose to satisfy my curiosity, I’ll have to go to Ireland one day and keep buying drinks for strangers until I can trick some into toasting me.)
Steve Coogan also gives a very solid dramatic turn in the film playing Martin Sixsmith, the journalist helping Philomena to find her estranged son. (I love the name Sixsmith. It just sounds so lovely when spoken.)
I spent most of the movie racking my brain trying to identify his editor played most compellingly by Michelle Fairely. She really makes the most of a small part, and—so you don’t torture yourself wondering like I did—she also plays Catelyn Stark on Game of Thrones. The rest of the cast is also good, but less memorable, though of course Barbara Jefford makes an impression as Sister Hildegarde.
Besides being perfectly cast, the movie also features beautiful (but not showy) cinematography (by Robbie Ryan), and an unassuming and lovely score by Alexandre Desplat that is probably one of my favorites of the year. If I were handing out Academy Award nominations, I’d give this film nods for Actress, Score, and Screenplay for sure, and maybe also Cinematography, Director, Supporting Actor, and Picture. But that’s just me.
Best Scene:
As far as Dench is concerned, the film is simply a series of perfect moments to showcase her talents. Every scene she’s in stands out. She’s fabulous as a likable character who also happens to endure a great deal of relatable suffering. If she doesn’t get an Oscar nomination, it will be an absolute crime.
So all the scenes in the film are good.
If I have to single one out, I’ll mention the moment on Pete Olsson’s doorstep. Obviously that scene was great because I absent-mindedly decided to reenact it in the dairy section of Target. I guess it struck a nerve.
What follows once Philomena and Sixsmith enter Olsson’s home is one of two extremely emotionally resonant moments of the movie. In some ways, what we see them see is a shock, and yet at this point, it doesn’t entirely surprise us. It’s like we’ve felt it coming even if we didn’t foresee it.
Best Action Sequence:
This isn’t an action movie, but I’m cheating a little to call out another scene in the film I absolutely love. Philomena and Sixsmith’s ride around the airport feels so authentic. Their conversation is just magical. I love Dench’s narration of her romance novel. Oh how she reminds me of my grandmother here! She also seems like a character almost too human to be real! (I know Philomena Lee is a real person, but Dench makes her feel so utterly charming here that for a moment I felt like I was watching Miracle on 34th Street.) (I mean that as a compliment because it’s one of my favorite movies.) (Obviously I mean the original.)
Most Oscar Worthy Moment (Judi Dench/ Steve Coogan):
The moment at the end of breakfast when Philomena and Sixsmith embrace is so powerful. (I should probably call him Martin since I call her Philomena, but I get a little thrill every time I write the name Sixsmith.) Both Dench and Coogan play the moment so perfectly that it could be used as an Oscar clip for either. Tears started welling up in my eyes midway through this scene, and by the time the actual comforting happened, I felt I was about to collapse into an emotional heap on the movie theater floor.
Most Oscar Worthy Moment (Steve Coogan/ Judi Dench):
Of course the big showdown at the end also stands out. Steve Coogan gets to show off a bit in this scene. He gets both a nice blustery, passionate speech and a chilling final line. If it didn’t spoil so much of the movie, I’d recommend this scene as an awards show clip for him.
Judi Dench steals the scene, however, as Philomena demonstrates that as a lifelong practicing Catholic, she knows better than to bring a knife to a nun fight. She finds exactly the right words to make a triumphant exit.
Best Scene Visually:
There’s a scene near the very end of Philomena standing in the snow, face partially obscured (by her coat, I think). To keep the review spoiler free, I won’t go into detail about what’s happening there, but the shot is breathtaking. Basically it’s just a close-up of Dench’s face—and her pearl earrings—with the snowy, icy landscape in soft focus behind her. It’s a beautiful shot, such gorgeous variation of rich colors. The shot looks like it’s coaxing the color and life from a limited (and somewhat desolate) subject. I mean, it’s just a close up of a woman wearing winter clothing standing in the snow, but the shot is so beautiful, so perfect.
I also like the way the movie shows us flashbacks of Anthony in the form of short films and brief memories. I don’t know if the film clips were shot for the film or are of the actual historical child, but I assume they hired an actor to play the child in the dramatizations featuring Philomena interacting with her son. He is the cutest kid in the world.
The Negatives:
I’m having trouble finding fault with anything in this film. I will say that I didn’t enjoy the scene with Mare Winningham, not because she gives a bad performance but because her character’s reaction to the events unfolding is so disappointing. But this is a true story, and if that’s the way it really happened, what can be done about it?
How true is the story? I always find myself asking that question.
Certainly the story as researched and presented by Martin Sixsmith is biased (not in a horrible way, just in the natural way that any human being’s writing is). In the final scenes of the movie, Sister Hildegarde seems so reprehensible, almost unpardonably vicious. My husband and I talked about this for a long time in the car.
I do think that the demonization of Sister Hildegarde and the other complicit nuns does reflect the bias of the journalist (who in the film is admittedly an atheist—or at least an agnostic—and a somewhat bitter former altar boy). Philomena who occupied the same world as the nuns who made her life difficult seems less quick to condemn. I mean, watching the story from the outside, it’s hard not to come to many of the same conclusions as Sixsmith. What has happened is without a doubt wrong and highly infuriating. Still, we’re given almost no background when it comes to Sister Hildegarde. There’s certainly no attempt to discover or portray interiority. I mean what demons were haunting her? How did she grow up? What was she taught? What made her fixate so relentlessly on chastity at the expense of mercy or even basic compassion? We don’t look at her long enough or closely enough to see her as anything other than a one-note villain.
Still the screenplay is remarkable in that it does what it can to reveal the prejudices of the journalist. Sixsmith expresses his skepticism for organized religion and initial general disdain for “human interest” stories repeatedly. We also see that his editor is delighted with the “evil nuns” angle, suggesting that the scandal was probably emphasized and simplified to make the piece pop and garner wider readership. In that regard, the screenplay is extraordinarily well written because it shows us these things with subtlety and artistry. It also shows us that despite all of her afflictions (and some very human and natural doubts) Philomena has retained her basic piety. She believes in God and (though perhaps driven by practicality more than piety) she believes in treating others with kindness and respect. The screenplay is quite lovely because it allows both protagonists to grow as Sixsmith begins to take interest in an actual human and Philomena begins to accept that she has the right to question authority.
As a person of faith (a Catholic, as it happens), I find the story tremendously faith affirming. I want to say to Sixsmith, “Are you sure you don’t believe in God after you just happened to find this incredible story?” I mean, by the time all is said and done, he happens onto a pretty uncanny human interest piece (if he’s being honest about the way the investigation grew and all the surprises). Philomena’s story seems to touch on everything that’s been getting headlines in the past twenty years. Of course, the story also presents the nuns in a pretty harsh light. I think it would take a special talent for sophistry to convince yourself that what those nuns did was the right thing.
Ordinarily films about Church controversy focus on priests and leave the nuns out of it. But this is a true story. The religious generally try to avoid scandal, but if it’s scandal simply to tell the truth about one’s own life, then there’s definitely a problem. Refreshingly, though, the movie doesn’t go overboard. It doesn’t suggest that religion is useless or that all nuns are evil. (One of my dearest friends from college is now a nun. I can assure you, she’s not evil.)
This is supposed to be the section of the review where I say what the movie did wrong, and yet here I am complimenting it. You can see that I truly loved Philomena. I think the screenplay is exceptional, and Judi Dench’s fantastic lead performance elevates it even further. It’s one of my favorite films of the year (and 2013 has been an unusually good year).
Overall:
Philomena is a wonderfully moving tear-jerker that features a brilliant star turn by Judi Dench and also happens to be a remarkable true story. I hope very much that it gets Oscar nominations for Actress and Screenplay at least. I also loved the cinematography, the score, and basically everything about the entire film. It’s a charming and moving story that I’d gladly watch again any time. (Maybe if I rewatch it enough times, I will finally learn how to pronounce sláinte! Either that, or I’ll get very drunk trying.)