I saw another reviewer mention that this film is 2013's "The King's Speech", and I think that's spot on. I cannot for the love of god understand why either of these films have received the amount of critical acclaim they have. They are both so contrived that it's amazing to me so many people just eat up this kind of fluff. The substance of this film essentially boils down to: Wacky old lady has her son taken away from her as a child. Now laugh and cry at the appropriate moments!
The best things I can say are that it has some genuinely funny moments, although the humor is pretty hit-or-miss. And it should be commended for taking one or two interesting turns where it could have relied on clichés (I didn't expect to learn the fate of Philomena's (Judi Dench) late son about midway through the film).
However, the film as a whole is pretty formulaic and seems unsure of any larger point it would like to make. For example, the nuns are so clearly constructed as one-dimensional villains with something to hide, but then we're supposed to forgive them, even though they're unrepentant? Philomena and Martin (Steve Coogan) discuss God and religion quite a bit. Philomena starts off full of faith, then at one point rushes out of confession in an act seemingly of disavowal, and then later castigates Martin for his atheistic views and his (justified) anger at the nuns. These conflicting messages really don't help a film already on pretty shaky ground plot-wise.
The search itself seems to have consisted of a 5-minute Google search and a few emails, which does no favors for a film that strives so obviously to be a hard-hitting, emotionally deep chronicle "inspired by true events." Several elements of the plot feel half-baked, tacked on, and barely thought out at all. For instance, the odd framing device of the Martin's firing (what was that about?) and his new "human interest piece" contribute nothing to the film. That goes double for the strange flashbacks of Philomena's son Anthony that are interspersed arbitrarily throughout the film. They are made to look like home videos, which creates an awkward effect. Even weirder, we later find out that these are seemingly shots taken from a 1-minute home-video montage of Anthony's entire life. Through watching this video, we learn **SURPRISE!** he's been back to Ireland searching for his mother after all! (Never mind that his sister and former colleague have directly contradicted that idea a few scenes before.) It just doesn't work on any level except to be transparently tear-jerking and crowd-pleasing. And that's a fair summary of the film as a whole.
Dench is sometimes funny (although her character is a walking cliché as a wacky old lady with a heart of gold), and she cries well, but there is no context within her performance. Instead, she comes off as a manufactured prop that is meant to be lovable, hilarious, and empathetic, and that's it. Considering she's based on a real person, there's a stunning lack of specificity or even just creative detail. It's a crowd-pleasing but negligible performance.
Coogan fares much better. Martin's religious cynicism is earnest and refreshing, but not demeaning, in a movie suffocated by religious imagery and overtones. He also carefully blends his fondness for Philomena that develops with his frequent annoyance and frustration with a sheltered, irrational older woman with whom he doesn't have a lot in common. It's complex and empathetic work in a role that could have been one-dimensional.
The always-fantastic Mare Winningham is a standout in the supporting cast. With only one short scene, her performance adds much-needed mystery and complexity to the proceedings. She conveys deep emotional scars from her upbringing that raise interesting questions about Anthony's life, as well as her own. If the entire movie was transfused with the subtlety and depth in Winningham's performance, I imagine I would have liked it a lot more. When she left the screen I couldn't help but want to know more about her.
All in all, it's a pretty jumbled film that seems to exist solely to give Judi Dench a late-career Oscar. Nothing special at all, and the critical reception it's received is quite baffling. If Dench does indeed win Best Actress next year, I'm sure it will go down as one of the lesser wins in the category's history.
The best things I can say are that it has some genuinely funny moments, although the humor is pretty hit-or-miss. And it should be commended for taking one or two interesting turns where it could have relied on clichés (I didn't expect to learn the fate of Philomena's (Judi Dench) late son about midway through the film).
However, the film as a whole is pretty formulaic and seems unsure of any larger point it would like to make. For example, the nuns are so clearly constructed as one-dimensional villains with something to hide, but then we're supposed to forgive them, even though they're unrepentant? Philomena and Martin (Steve Coogan) discuss God and religion quite a bit. Philomena starts off full of faith, then at one point rushes out of confession in an act seemingly of disavowal, and then later castigates Martin for his atheistic views and his (justified) anger at the nuns. These conflicting messages really don't help a film already on pretty shaky ground plot-wise.
The search itself seems to have consisted of a 5-minute Google search and a few emails, which does no favors for a film that strives so obviously to be a hard-hitting, emotionally deep chronicle "inspired by true events." Several elements of the plot feel half-baked, tacked on, and barely thought out at all. For instance, the odd framing device of the Martin's firing (what was that about?) and his new "human interest piece" contribute nothing to the film. That goes double for the strange flashbacks of Philomena's son Anthony that are interspersed arbitrarily throughout the film. They are made to look like home videos, which creates an awkward effect. Even weirder, we later find out that these are seemingly shots taken from a 1-minute home-video montage of Anthony's entire life. Through watching this video, we learn **SURPRISE!** he's been back to Ireland searching for his mother after all! (Never mind that his sister and former colleague have directly contradicted that idea a few scenes before.) It just doesn't work on any level except to be transparently tear-jerking and crowd-pleasing. And that's a fair summary of the film as a whole.
Dench is sometimes funny (although her character is a walking cliché as a wacky old lady with a heart of gold), and she cries well, but there is no context within her performance. Instead, she comes off as a manufactured prop that is meant to be lovable, hilarious, and empathetic, and that's it. Considering she's based on a real person, there's a stunning lack of specificity or even just creative detail. It's a crowd-pleasing but negligible performance.
Coogan fares much better. Martin's religious cynicism is earnest and refreshing, but not demeaning, in a movie suffocated by religious imagery and overtones. He also carefully blends his fondness for Philomena that develops with his frequent annoyance and frustration with a sheltered, irrational older woman with whom he doesn't have a lot in common. It's complex and empathetic work in a role that could have been one-dimensional.
The always-fantastic Mare Winningham is a standout in the supporting cast. With only one short scene, her performance adds much-needed mystery and complexity to the proceedings. She conveys deep emotional scars from her upbringing that raise interesting questions about Anthony's life, as well as her own. If the entire movie was transfused with the subtlety and depth in Winningham's performance, I imagine I would have liked it a lot more. When she left the screen I couldn't help but want to know more about her.
All in all, it's a pretty jumbled film that seems to exist solely to give Judi Dench a late-career Oscar. Nothing special at all, and the critical reception it's received is quite baffling. If Dench does indeed win Best Actress next year, I'm sure it will go down as one of the lesser wins in the category's history.