Film: Philomena

Director: Stephen Frears
Genre: Drama
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: PG-13
Location/Format: Island Cinema
Grade: B-

I have to admit, Steve Coogan's presence in this film--and the trailers that emphasized all the funny parts--led me to believe this would be more of a comedy than it was. Yes, perhaps that was a little short sided given that it's a story of a woman searching for the son she was forced to give up for adoption fifty years earlier, but come on! Steve Coogan! Lots of jokes about her eccentric way of looking at the world! It could have happened!

The fact that this is pretty straightforwardly a drama and my own misguided expectations may go a long way to explaining why I never quite connected with the movie, and the fault is certainly my own. Coogan and Judi Dench both give strong performances, and the climactic confrontation scene is really effective in some unexpected ways. In several key scenes Dench embodies her character with depth and faith that could otherwise get lost in the "odd old bird" that Coogan sees and that often rises to the top.

Where the film shines is in its complex portrayal of faith. Coogan's Martin Sixsmith can't even be nailed down on whether he believes in God or not. He's world weary, cynical, and sees faith as something somewhat quaint but ultimately simplistically self-deceptive. Dench's Philomena can see simplistic, passive, even aggravatingly slow in not identifying the wrongs that have been done to her by the Catholic church and the Magdalene Institutions that forced young mothers to give up their babies for adoption. She wants answers, but she's afraid of them. And her faith, which seems so simple and unwavering, never seems to be anything but blind. But as the film progresses Dench allows Philomena's inner resolve to shine through, and director Frears (and writers Jeff Pope and, what do you know again, Steve Coogan) emphasize that faith, and forgiveness, and acceptance are choices, and they are not easy choices. 

Is the film a product of Catholic apologists? Or is it simply suggesting that perhaps cynicism in some cases is the easier choice? Maybe both?

Whatever it is, it doesn't fully plumb those issues enough to really work for me, and tonally it couldn't fully make up its mind whether it was a buddy road trip movie or a dramatic investigation or a biopic. It didn't come together as much as I'd hoped it would, but it wouldn't surprise me to see it find an audience. I just am not that audience.