Philomena Movie Review

Philomena was a beautiful film based on a true story. Judi Dench plays Philomena Lee and Martin Sixsmith plays Steve Coogan. This story is one of loss, change, and acceptance as Martin and Philomena go on a search for her long lost son of 50 years. Directed by Stephen Frears, Philomena takes you on an emotional ride with the these two wonderful performances and an amazing story.

So Martin is journalist who had recently lost his job with the BBC and it's clear that he's not a very happy person. There's a consistent element of comic relief throughout the film despite the very serious material, which I think they did excellently. In the midst of wanting to write a book on Russian history, Martin comes across a human interest story that he's very hesitant to write.

This is where Martin meets Philomena for the first time and hears her story. We're taken back in time 50 years when Philomena was a young teenage girl. She has sex out of wedlock and becomes  pregnant. Being abandoned by her parents and left at the Sean Ross Abbey in Ireland. She is forced to work in their laundry for four years to pay off her stay. She gives birth there, without any anesthesia, because the nuns thought it was proper punishment for her sins. Then one day without her consent or knowledge, her little son is adopted out by the nuns and it leaves her destroyed. This is was one of the most emotional scenes in the movie for me and left me feeling so sad!

Jump back to the present and Martin decides to pick up this piece on Philomena. After visiting the Abbey and coming up short, the two travel to America to try to track down any possible leads that could end in finding her son. The rest I will leave to the viewers to experience. That being said, I think Judi Dench did a spectacular job playing Philomena. She felt like the typical grandma that everyone loves. It was such an enjoyable performance, both heart-wrenching and hilarious. And it was also interesting to see Martin's character development arc throughout the movie. Philomena was definitely deserving of it's nomination for best picture and I give it a 9 out of 10.