Philomena

Plot: Journalist Martin (Steve Coogan)  investigates the case of Philomena (Judi Dench) who was forced to give up her child Anthony for adoption 30 years prior while in residence at a convent. They never find Anthony, but they trace out his tragic life. 

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Review: A slow moving, melodrama featuring a great performance by Judi Dench. It tells of horrific child-rearing practices and human trafficking in Ireland during the 1950's.

Highlights are the great performance of Judi Dench who inhabits the simple-minded persona of Philomena, and the writing which is filled with little details of her personality. The tragic story has a documentary aspect that is intrinsically interesting.

Lowlights were the many digressions, and the melodramatic, tear-jerker manipulation. Similarly I don't believe the nuns were so incredibly evil when they were probably doing the best they could. The poor nuns were, in fact, helping young mothers who had been disowned by their families. It helps to remember that Ireland after WWII was a poor country. 

Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark

Directed by: Stephen Frears; Based on the book by Martin Sixsmith

Rating: 2.0 stars: One good performance saves what would otherwise be a tedious story. 

More: Perhaps I am supposed to think that this was a heroic crusade to buy back the past of these young mothers. This movie did not work for me as a documentary. I don't trust dramatizations to get the facts right. The Guardian has some fact checking here. 

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