Philomena is a narrative film "inspired by true events". The story follows Philomena, a rather charming elderly Irish woman, as she searches for the whereabouts of the son she was coerced into giving up for adoption in 1952 as an unmarried teen mother living in the convent. Her background story is heart-wrenching at best. Philomena's demeanor, no-nonsense yet strangely cheeky, helps keep the story from being a complete sob-fest. Some might find the switch between the humor and high-emotion narrative confusing, but I think it helps keep the Kleenex count to a minimum.
Judi Dench positively shines in the title role. Her ability to completely immerse herself in the emotions that Philomena obviously feels makes the entire film seem that much more authentic. It's hard to watch Dench sob in a restaurant, but she does it with poise, I'll give her that. The absolute dignity that Philomena clearly has despite her rough teen years is fully encapsulated by her performance. Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith, the journalist who ends up helping Philomena find the answer to her missing son's whereabouts, is the perfect foil to Dench.
Simultaneously overly scholarly yet possessing a sense of cynical humor, Sixsmith initially turned away Philomena's daughter and expressed absolutely no interest in her story. Philomena ends up being just as much about Sixsmith's search for wisdom after a career blunder as it is about finding Philomena's son. The film takes a series of twists and turns as the storyline progresses, and the ending is not what I expected in the least. Well, maybe not what I had hoped for.
Overall, the film has a wonderful mix of comedy and narrative, though the comedy is definitely of a British sort "“ to be expected given the locale. The performances are brilliant, not that I expect any less from this cast, but it's nice not to be disappointed. The storyline may seem a bit depressing and dark, but there is a flicker of hope held throughout the film that helps keep the overall theme of forgiveness alive.
