Stephen Frears seems to be the champion of the above-average middle-ground cinema. At the very least, he's consistent, Philomena is my fifth 7/10 from him (only disappointing me once with My Beautiful Laundrette, 6/10, and surprising me once with High Fidelity, 8/10). But it's a good film to add to the pile anyway. Philomena is lovely and simple. Perhaps too simple to be anything more than mildly satisfying. It hinges on Judi Dench's terrific performance. She's created a thoroughly charming character and through her acceptance and determination one we can't resist to follow. Although I haven't watched Alan Partridge, I've always been a fan of Steve Coogan from The Parole Officer. While here he's better as a writer than an actor, his performance is good too despite some off-moments. The script diligently follows the script- help books and efficiently lays out the plot in that moment-to-moment guide. But this restrain isn't a distraction, in fact it's admirable in its economy. The only thing that holds back the script is the dramatic appeal of the material, but it makes great use by taking an indisputable injustice into a detective story with an unlikely pairing.
However, while it makes great use of its limitations, it doesn't feel ambitious in scale. Instead, it feels like it's prepackaged to be adapted to the stage in some form or another. It would benefit the story greatly as the film suffers from poor editing. Shots are left noticeably too short or too long among distracting continuity errors and it affects the pacing severely. Although, I must admit, the key moments are in Dench's heartbreaking-or-making closeups. It has a theme in its design of bouncing around binary oppositions. The cinematography is simple and minimal, focusing on contrasting shades of blue and orange. The oppositions are most apparent with the pairing of Coogan and Dench and the past with the present. It deliberately serves little meat but it chews it with confidence. However, as a relevation-driven film, it does take a little bit out of the experience to know anything beforehand. I loved how it has self-aware ideas on storytelling, whenever the film hits a lull, it re-evaluates itself and decides what kind of step it needs to take next. With an only-sometimes preachy religious argument, the film's dignity is in its fascinating climactic note. A film more worth watching than I expected.
7/10
However, while it makes great use of its limitations, it doesn't feel ambitious in scale. Instead, it feels like it's prepackaged to be adapted to the stage in some form or another. It would benefit the story greatly as the film suffers from poor editing. Shots are left noticeably too short or too long among distracting continuity errors and it affects the pacing severely. Although, I must admit, the key moments are in Dench's heartbreaking-or-making closeups. It has a theme in its design of bouncing around binary oppositions. The cinematography is simple and minimal, focusing on contrasting shades of blue and orange. The oppositions are most apparent with the pairing of Coogan and Dench and the past with the present. It deliberately serves little meat but it chews it with confidence. However, as a relevation-driven film, it does take a little bit out of the experience to know anything beforehand. I loved how it has self-aware ideas on storytelling, whenever the film hits a lull, it re-evaluates itself and decides what kind of step it needs to take next. With an only-sometimes preachy religious argument, the film's dignity is in its fascinating climactic note. A film more worth watching than I expected.
7/10