Philomena

My wife talked me into going, I wanted to see Captain Philips but she was adamant this time. We both grew up in Ireland and I didn't want to see another one of those movies focused on stereotypes, the marketing blob types like the Quiet Man and Ryan's Daughter...stereotypical nonsense that lampoon our history and our culture. Steve Coogan and Judy Dench, especially Judy got it just right from the very start. They were smart, witty, serious and most of all, Judy was 'Irish' They really got the spirit of an Irish mom, that cocktail of guilt, generosity, inferiority and a heart to care for the entire world spot on. Dench in the hotel thanking everybody for being 'so nice' and getting who her son was as a child as others were today trying to 'break the news' to her...she wasn't just a step ahead, she was years ahead. Really excellent, really well done. Beautiful!

Steve Coogan deserves utmost respect for producing and writing this film. His script is excellent, consistently witty and engaging on the surface whilst spinning many more layers beneath the surface which became unconsciously stirring. Normally with these kinds of films I find the humour becomes contrived, forced or inappropriate, like the writers/director buckle under a need to impress and please the audience. You won't find those jarring moments here - Philomena is expertly judged and balanced. The story itself is fascinating, and again Coogan's script steers clear from overt sentimentality to allow the humanity to speak for itself. A gentle, funny, heartbreaking and unforgettable film. I actually much prefer it to the Kings Speech.

As several critics have observed, this wonderful film, just shown at TIFF, is destined to become this year's King's Speech (which began its Oscar run in Toronto too, though Philomena has already picked up accolades in Venice). Both British films have strongly emotional undercurrents leavened by wry humour, feature outstanding performances from the leads and are based on true stories.

Judi Dench, as the Irish woman whose out-of-wedlock son is taken from her by Catholic nuns and sold to a rich American couple in the 1950's, has never been better. She imbues the role with a mix of wisdom (after all, as she reminds us repeatedly, she was nurse for 30 years) and naiveté that would seem to be impossible were it not so deftly handled. While the cynical atheist portrayed by Steve Coogan rarely misses an opportunity to poke fun at her, more often than not she enjoys the last laugh.

Despite the consummate acting, and Frears' slick directing, the greatest treat of the film is Steve Coogan's screenplay. Given its subject matter, the story could easily have veered into melodrama, but just when it is on the verge of doing so Coogan pulls us back from the edge. Thankfully, Coogan himself is there to convey precisely the proper blend of sarcasm and compassion.

The film starts with the message that it is based on true events. Although you might wonder what was changed for the film, you soon forget that and accept it as a whole. In short it was brilliant. It could have been a predictable story but instead it had other dimensions and took unexpected directions with strong characters and some humour. I thought I knew an outline beforehand and was pleasantly surprised when that part was covered in the first twenty minutes. It was intriguing where the story would take us and that happened a few more times later. In addition to Philomena's journey, there was also Martin Sixsmith's journey from the beginning as just a detached journalist doing a human interest story on someone, whom he thought was beneath him, to being totally involved and offering not to publish it. To illustrate the depths of this film you can see how it attacks cruel, narrow-minded, sanctimonious Catholicism and at the same time shows how the faith gave strength to Philomena and the ability to forgive rather than to wreak vengeance. The acting was totally convincing. It is going to be a competitive year but Judy must be up for another Oscar. Just watching Steve Coogan's almost imperceptible expressions of irritation as Philomena told him the interminable plot of the book she had just been reading, was wonderful. This is definitely the best film I have seen all year. After writing this I read the interview with Martin Sixsmith on the Guardian web-site. It fills in more detail about Michael Hess (Anthony Lee) but confirms the whole truth of the story.

Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) is a former press secretary who was "resigned" in a dispute with the transport secretary. He is bitter and a laughing stock. As a former BBC reporter, he is approached by a waitress to do a story about her mother Philomena (Judi Dench). At a young age, she had a boy out of wedlock and was sent away to the nuns. There she works for them for 4 years to pay off her debt and her son was adopted to Americans. She had kept this secret for 50 years and now she wants to search for him. Martin takes Philomena to the convent but is given the polite runaround. It's only the start of a trans-Atlantic journey into the past.

The true life story is so compelling. It's been fictionalized a bit, but this is just a wonderful heartfelt story. Judi Dench is amazing. The best part of Philomena is her upbeat manner which always look for the best in everyone. It is truly incredible when she goes into the confessional. The conflict inside of her at that moment is heart breaking. The chemistry with Steve Coogan is light and emotional when it needs to be. It is a profoundly human story. Some critics may hate it for being anti-church. That is their prerogative but that would miss the profound love at its core.