A beautiful movie about roots and connections lost and found. Premium performance by Dench who would surely bag an Oscar for a lead part at last if it wasn't for the powerhouse that was Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. Coogan holds his own without trying to overstep into his leading lady's limelight.
Parts of the movie have been controversial because, well, how dare anyone tell the truth about the mistakes of the Church and the unapologetic way it tried to cover them up? But there's no agenda here, only the confrontations of a man who lost his faith and a woman who held on to them, through all the wrong-doings and the loss and the lies.
The poster somewhat lied to me, promising something more jolly and less adult than the final product, which ends up as somber, poignant, slow, and ultimately heartbreaking, gradually moving with the pace and presentation of a austere and conversational British TV drama. Judi Dench is captivating, but Steve Coogan also earns plaudits for a dry and comedically uncomfortable turn, wrestling with a bygone era's approach to bitter secrets. Unspectacular on the surface, but still waters run deep, brimming with a barely contained anger and full heart.
A packed story hampered by an overly condensed and at times disjointed plot. Rushed transitions, uneven tonality, and a religious/political agenda unbecoming of such a potentially significant production.
With all that said, I actually liked this film. As previously stated, the story was packed with potential -- the writer/director almost had too much to work with. And as father to a little boy, it was heart-wrenching. Yes, the plot was a bit disjointed, but other external aspects of the picture made up for it, such as the cinematography and the performances. The biggest miss in terms of tone concerned the very tricky line of trying to simultaneously express drama and humor. I felt that the jokes in Coogan's script, while funny in essence, were executed poorly and did not always plug in smoothly to the atmosphere of the scene.
The worst point for me was the filmmaker's agenda in regards to the religious/political themes. They tried to balance it out with Dench's naively faithful character but it was just too obvious that they were trying to superficially balance the two attitudes without actually swaying from the side they really believed in. Ultimately then, I found Philomena a bit condescending to the viewer.
Great performances, Steve Coogan was very good in the work that he did in the movie, for me he is the Star of the movie, Judi Dench does her work and it is a fantastic work as well.
4/5
With all confidence, the story of the movie is undoubtedly wonderful, and it was exciting and passionate to follow it until the end, but I did not find the dramatic and emotional sense of the mother. I did not find that she really lost her son, but the feelings were mixed. The feelings and sense of losing the son could have been put in the right way better than this.
There was no strong flashback showing the mother's life from her son. It was very useless. There are many hilarious moments and a banter link that extended to the end of the movie, which spoiled the drama of the story. I feel that the true feelings of the mother and her son, who was lost and never saw his real mother, should have been respected.
Judi Dench was the reason I watched the movie. Her performance was wonderful in mixing her different emotions and feelings, sometimes she laughs, sometimes she cries, and sometimes she forgives. She really made a true story.
While Judi Dench plays the subject of the film in Philomena, its initially unwilling protagonist is Steve Coogan's jaded reporter who wouldn't be doing a human interest feature at all if he hadn't been fired from the BBC for his cynicism (essentially). That he stumbles on Yet Another Cover-Up by the Catholic ChurchTM while helping a woman find a child given up to adoption (and indeed, the identity of the child) is the sort of contrivance movies are made of, except this all really happened. A case of life being stranger than fiction. But the simple Philomena Lee is a great foil for Coogan's snobby Martin Sixsmith - the Odd Couple comedy helps alleviate some of the story's natural heaviness - and though he's the investigator of the piece and the one who "arcs", she turns out to be the protagonist after all, and she's the one who has decisions to make and things to lose in the climax of the piece. A keen character study wrapped in a journalism story.
Great to see Steve working with one of the finest actors around. His own work drew Judi Dench to the film and there is no higher praise than that. A great drama.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 20
BadFluffy
A beautiful movie about roots and connections lost and found. Premium performance by Dench who would surely bag an Oscar for a lead part at last if it wasn't for the powerhouse that was Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. Coogan holds his own without trying to overstep into his leading lady's limelight.Parts of the movie have been controversial because, well, how dare anyone tell the truth about the mistakes of the Church and the unapologetic way it tried to cover them up? But there's no agenda here, only the confrontations of a man who lost his faith and a woman who held on to them, through all the wrong-doings and the loss and the lies.
Scratch47
The poster somewhat lied to me, promising something more jolly and less adult than the final product, which ends up as somber, poignant, slow, and ultimately heartbreaking, gradually moving with the pace and presentation of a austere and conversational British TV drama. Judi Dench is captivating, but Steve Coogan also earns plaudits for a dry and comedically uncomfortable turn, wrestling with a bygone era's approach to bitter secrets. Unspectacular on the surface, but still waters run deep, brimming with a barely contained anger and full heart.devilsadvocado
A packed story hampered by an overly condensed and at times disjointed plot. Rushed transitions, uneven tonality, and a religious/political agenda unbecoming of such a potentially significant production.With all that said, I actually liked this film. As previously stated, the story was packed with potential -- the writer/director almost had too much to work with. And as father to a little boy, it was heart-wrenching. Yes, the plot was a bit disjointed, but other external aspects of the picture made up for it, such as the cinematography and the performances. The biggest miss in terms of tone concerned the very tricky line of trying to simultaneously express drama and humor. I felt that the jokes in Coogan's script, while funny in essence, were executed poorly and did not always plug in smoothly to the atmosphere of the scene.
The worst point for me was the filmmaker's agenda in regards to the religious/political themes. They tried to balance it out with Dench's naively faithful character but it was just too obvious that they were trying to superficially balance the two attitudes without actually swaying from the side they really believed in. Ultimately then, I found Philomena a bit condescending to the viewer.
jakeyjake
Dench is always ph(ilom)enomenal.Joker of Gotham
Great performances, Steve Coogan was very good in the work that he did in the movie, for me he is the Star of the movie, Judi Dench does her work and it is a fantastic work as well.4/5
ahmetaslan27
With all confidence, the story of the movie is undoubtedly wonderful, and it was exciting and passionate to follow it until the end, but I did not find the dramatic and emotional sense of the mother. I did not find that she really lost her son, but the feelings were mixed. The feelings and sense of losing the son could have been put in the right way better than this.There was no strong flashback showing the mother's life from her son. It was very useless. There are many hilarious moments and a banter link that extended to the end of the movie, which spoiled the drama of the story. I feel that the true feelings of the mother and her son, who was lost and never saw his real mother, should have been respected.
Judi Dench was the reason I watched the movie. Her performance was wonderful in mixing her different emotions and feelings, sometimes she laughs, sometimes she cries, and sometimes she forgives. She really made a true story.
danisanna
Gutwrenchingly sad but gorgeous.Siskoid
While Judi Dench plays the subject of the film in Philomena, its initially unwilling protagonist is Steve Coogan's jaded reporter who wouldn't be doing a human interest feature at all if he hadn't been fired from the BBC for his cynicism (essentially). That he stumbles on Yet Another Cover-Up by the Catholic ChurchTM while helping a woman find a child given up to adoption (and indeed, the identity of the child) is the sort of contrivance movies are made of, except this all really happened. A case of life being stranger than fiction. But the simple Philomena Lee is a great foil for Coogan's snobby Martin Sixsmith - the Odd Couple comedy helps alleviate some of the story's natural heaviness - and though he's the investigator of the piece and the one who "arcs", she turns out to be the protagonist after all, and she's the one who has decisions to make and things to lose in the climax of the piece. A keen character study wrapped in a journalism story.andrea2107
I love this movie so much, and Judi is adorable :)Earring72
Moving and well acted real life drama with a lot of humoraussieflickfan
Great to see Steve working with one of the finest actors around. His own work drew Judi Dench to the film and there is no higher praise than that. A great drama.lachyas
It was alright. No way in hell was this one of the best nine films of 2013.TalkingElvish
Top notch acting and a cracking script redolent with promise that Coogan has even finer screenplays to come.Jook
Beautifulcatherinefrances
Such a tragic film! Judi Dench fantastic as alwaysShowing items 1 – 15 of 20