Philomena Review

[Westside Steve]

Philomena

BBC

PG 13 98 min

I think somewhere buried in the heart of all Yanks is a little bit of an Anglophile. Commercial spokespersons with English accents always seem more credible and almost every year the Academy finds a low key Brit flick to add to the Oscars. This year it’s PHILOMENA

Basically this is a mild comedy, with a dark side, a buddy picture of sorts that teams up an ex BBC spin doctor Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) who has found himself out of the loop and a job and a conservative Irish woman Philomena (Judi Dench) on a quest to find her long lost son. Those familiar with Frank McCourt or even Sinead O'Connor have probably heard harsh tales about the Irish convents of the mid 50's where dogma and intolerance were so pervasive.

In this oppressive culture of shame and guilt young Philomena (Judi Dench) and her child (born out of wedlock) are abandoned to the mercy of the nuns.

Now after 50 years of being kept in the dark she has finally decided to seek out her child who had been adopted and taken away to America. Sixsmith has reluctantly accepted the challenge of writing her story and the two unlikely companions embark upon a fact finding trip to the United States. One of the nicest things about the film is the way the characters unfold as the story progresses. The pragmatic author: in his enlightenment turns out to be less able to accept the frailties of human behavior then the old woman. There is also a gentle nature to the entire film, not only the humor but the sorrow as well. Yes there are heartbreaking events yet in the final outcome there is a resolution to remind us all of the true message of Jesus Christ that is too often overlooked.

Of course PHILOMENA is not without its obligatory political statements which may or may not have been the catalyst for Academy attention. Still at least some of those statements are perfectly warranted and do not overshadow a well-told well written and well-acted story.

A-

WSS