Film: Philomena
Starring: Judie Dench, Steve Coogan
Directed by: Stephen Frears

The world needs more stories like the one told in Philomena

50 years ago, a scared single mother had her child given up for adoption against her will. She kept this chapter of her life secret for decades, but recently realized that the one thing she desired most in life is to know what came of her baby boy. She’s tried to learn the truth on her own, but it will take the help of an unlikely companion for Philomena (Judie Dench) to find the answers she seeks.

Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) never thought he’d find himself in such a position as where he currently resides in life when he’s first introduced in Philomena. Recently fired from a high-standing job in politics, he’s currently one of the black sheep of the ‘used to be’ famous population of Europe. He’s decided to write a book on Russian history to bury the pain of public embarrassment, but when he hears the story of Philomena he finds the idea of a one-of-a-kind human interest story too good to resist. He’s the story’s grinch at first, but the audience learns during the course of the story that his heart is simply waiting for a good reason to feel again.

Judie Dench is no stranger to the silver screen, but in her latest role she presents herself in an ever-so-fragile way that has rarely seen time on the silver screen. Philomena is a confident woman burdened by a great sadness that religion has helped keep at bay for many years. When she meets Steve Coogan’s character, you never expect their relationship to work. Even as business partners you would never in a million years pair Martin and Philomena, but over the course of the film you and they learn they absolutely need one another in order to evolve as people. Philomena has a lifetime of guilt on her shoulders that no amount of confidence can shake, and Martin has a heart of gold in need of a cause to fight for, which he eventually finds in Philomena. The main story is moving enough, but the emotional journey each main character undertakes are themselves worth the price of admission.

There is a familiarity to the structure of Philomena that allows viewers to be caught off guard when the film’s halfway reveal hits roughly fourth-five minutes into the film. It’s something never hinted at in the trailers, and it send our leads into the most poignant parts of the story with the viewer believing absolutely anything can happen. It’s not what I would describe as ‘edge of your seat’ storytelling, but it is in its own way a thrilling unraveling of actions that few will be prepared to experience (aka – bring the tissues).

Philomena is a densely layered concoction of drama and comedy that works on many levels, but it what stands out the most is undoubtedly the on-screen chemistry between Coogan and Dench. Their decades of combined experience brings to life to lovable, entirely believable characters you learn to cherish long before the credits roll. From start to finish there is an electricity in nearly every scene that rings with that special intangible quality of pure movie magic that delivers again and again.

Take a break from the holiday rush of overly dramatic Oscar contenders and spend sometime with Martin and Philomena. I promise, you won’t regret it.

Score: A

Review written by: James Shotwell (Follow him on Twitter)

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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