Philomena

The story of Philomena is so unbelievable that if it weren't a true story, no one would believe it because it's just so outrageous and coincidental. It also errs on the side of melodrama, and if it weren't true, it would most certainly air on Lifetime and people would watch it and think, "wow, what imagination!"

But Philomena is the true story of an Irish woman (Judi Dench), who admits after 50 years that as a young teenager, she had gotten pregnant. Her widower father dropped her off at a convent where the nuns eventually delivered her baby, forced her into four years of more-or-less slavery and then sold her baby to an American couple while she was at choir practice. Fifty years later, she teams up with a disgraced British journalist (Steve Coogan) to find her son and find out the truth of what really happened all those years ago. And the trailer for this movie is quite misleading, because what follows are twists and turns and coincidences, some more crazy than others. And all of it is true.

On one hand, this movie is much more than I expected it to be. It's very subtle and actually quite funny. I was expecting some kind of snooze fest which would only appeal to a certain demographic (old, white, female), but that's definitely not the case. This is the sort of feel-good movie of the year in a lot of ways. Most of this is because of Dench, who is just extraordinary in every way as Philomena. She's adorable and lovable. You just want to hug her, and then when you leave the theater, you want to be a better person because of her. (Editors note: That doesn't last long, especially when you hit crazy holiday traffic on your way home!). Coogan isn't necessarily a great actor. There were two specific times watching the movie where I thought, "Hey, this guy is a lousy actor." However, he is mostly solid as the cocky journalist. But the thing that truly drives this film is the odd couple chemistry between the two actors. It is absolutely delightful to watch them banter back and forth and their performances, along with a great script (which Coogan also co-wrote) is definitely the highlight of the film.

So, on one hand you have this really interesting story (and it's all true!) that is compelling and fascinating. You've got really excellent performances (one of which will surely be Oscar nominated in the next few weeks). You've got this movie that manages to be feel-good while still also sort of breaking your heart. You've got a movie that expertly balances the tone, being laugh out loud funny one moment and serious the next. And then, on the other hand, you have a movie that still feels like a Lifetime movie. Watching a movie in a movie theater should never feel like it's something you can watch on your couch on a Saturday morning when it's snowing and too cold to leave your house. But that's what Philomena feels like at times, and that's not a feeling I could easily escape. I'm also not saying that's a bad thing. I love a Lifetime movie as much as the next person (and I won't admit to watching a delightful little holiday movie called The 12 Dates of Christmas starring Mark-Paul Gosslear on Lifetime not once, but twice this year). Still, as charming as this movie is 80% of the time, I just can't get past the extreme sentimentality of the other 20%. Philomena is a sweet old lady, but this movie is too-sweet at times and, at least for me, that's sort of a bad thing.

Grade: B