Philomena (2013)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Absolutely Fantastic

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Philomena is a film that snuck up on me completely. It was a film I had wanted to see badly when it came out in 2013, but I sadly missed the chance to see it in cinema. After Philomena left cinemas, I had forgotten about it until my wonderful monthly viewing planner came to be. Yet another reason I am glad I began to organize a monthly viewing schedule; I'm given a second chance to see films that I have wanted to see but missed. Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, tells the story of a woman who was forced to give up her child she had out of wedlock, and her search to find him 50 years later. Directed by Stephen Frears, Philomena is a human story delving into relationships in the most genuine way. On the anniversary of the birth of the child that was taken from her, Philomena (Judi Dench) feels ready to face her experience and seek out the son she has thought about daily for the last 50 years. Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) is a shamed journalist dismissed from the Labour party unsure of how to get work or what to do next. When Philomena's daughter meets Martin by chance, she gives him a brief overview of her mother's story hoping to entice him to help. Martin, despite being currently unemployed, wants to stay away from human interest stories, but eventually reluctantly comes around to tell Philomena's story. Philomena tells Martin about her life, becoming pregnant out of wedlock then being sent to a Catholic Convent to deliver her baby. The convent would take care of the children and allow the young mothers to avoid medical costs and provide them with an outlet of childcare. What the mothers didn't know, however, was that the children would also be taken from them and given to adoptive parents. Once this happened to Philomena, she was heartbroken, never forgetting her son Anthony. With the help of Martin, Philomena is ready to track down her son, which quickly takes her from her home in Ireland to America. I may be in the minority here, but I always get pretty excited to see the glowing W of the Weinstein logo. I almost always fall for films distributed by the brothers and typically enjoy their output so seeing that beloved W before the opening credits was a good indication that I would enjoy Philomena. My favorite film technique, when it is well-used, are flashbacks. Philomena employs such meaningful and seamless use of flashbacks that the story is incredibly enhanced. The driving force behind Philomena is the human relationships we see develop throughout the film. The relationship you expect isn't even the one that takes precedence, as you become much more invested in Philomena and Martin than the search for Philomena's son. Stephen Frears does a beautiful job of showing the reality of people from very different lifestyles pushed together for a story, and the ups and downs they encounter together. Philomena wants to experience the search for her son with Martin alone, telling her daughter to stay home. It seems odd initially to see a stranger endure such a personal journey with Philomena until you realize that even though Philomena is searching for her own child, he was taken and thusly is a stranger to her. It is so beautiful to see the gradual strengthening of the relationship between Martin and Philomena, who at first are only tolerable of each other, eventually, becoming dear friends. The personal journey of a woman desperate to know if her stolen son ever thinks of her, Philomena is a raw, genuine film to be seen by all.

The search for a lost child is always filled with mystery, but in the case of Judi Dench as the title character, she seems to see her son's life happening long after they were separated. Taken to an Irish convent where mostly cruel nuns took in unwed mothers, sold the babies to wealthy Americans and made them work off the "hospitality" through hard labor. With the help of a BBC reporter, Dench travels to Washington DC where the truth is revealed, and all is not happy once she finds out.While the novel tells the story mostly through the son's eyes, this is told through Philomena's, obviously to focus on the wonderful Dench. It's not a story of the evils of the church, but one woman's determination to reach out to her greatest love, an adorable little boy who went far in life, but not without a price.The way this story is told in other hands would be a lifetime movie, but with Dench, it is a personal story, a character study, a tale of redemption and finality, and obviously, a lesson in what great acting is all about. Dench is pretty much the whole film, glowing even under the most tragic of circumstances. One should not see the negativity about the church here, just one aspect of a huge organization that has a history of both good and evil.

That was the movie I least wanted to see the nominated Oscar in 2014 , most ended up being one of my favorites to win, Philomena is a great movie with a great story , the script is well written , the cast is a plus, Judi Dench is great , the soundtrack fits the film, the picture is very good, the direction is good too, Steve Coogan is very well in this film , the characters in the film are well placed , it is nice to see the journey of it to search for child she did not see 50 years, the chemistry of Judi Dench and Steve Coogan is very good, the costumes is also good , the film as well as virtually all of the same theme, criticizes the Catholic church , and the film has good moments of humor. Note 8.7

I watched this movie because of the great actors in the cast, but found it to be really predictable and boring from beginning to end. The cast was great, lovely locations, but not really a movie that i will remember in a couple year's time. Maybe because i strongly dislike babies and motherhood and all that and all the "oh, pity me, they took my baby away" leaves me unaffected? i found myself rolling my eyes in exasperation instead of being moved by its obvious twists and ending. It is supposed to be a moving, inspirational movie for some reason. Well, it didn't work for me (and some other people i know) despite the fact that i cry easily with movies, specially if it involves injustice.