Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Philomena

Every country has something in its past it isn't proud of. For the United States, it's the eradication of the Native Americans. For the United Kingdom, it would be the centuries of mistreatment of Ireland. And for Ireland, it would certainly have to be the Magdalene Laundries. Although not the only country to have these institutions, Ireland is the one most associated with them. The places were known for the cruelty of the nuns that ran them towards the women who lived and worked there, even going so far as to not administer pain killers or really do much to help if a birthing went wrong. Far too many women (many of which were barely older than children themselves) and their children died because of cruelty and apathy of these institutions. Amazingly, the last Irish one stayed open until 1996.



Although Philomena is about one of the women who was taken in by this institution, it really isn't about the institution itself. It's not about the Catholic church coming to terms with one of its less memorable institutions. It's certainly not about how a few persistent people can bring down the iniquities of a faceless, uncaring bureaucracy, nor about changing the minds of either the non believers like Martin (Steve Coogan) or the devoutly Catholic Philomena (Judi Dench). In the end, it's a story about a mother trying to find the son she lost so many years ago.

Based on a true story, the journey that Philomena and Martin go on in search of her son Anthony is something out of a movie. Although probably not surprising to those who know the real story, the movie reveals her son's fate after he was adopted by rich Americans relatively early in the film. The rest of the film is spent by Philomena (with Martin's help) trying to get some sense of her son's life.

Philomena is not the flashiest movie of what is turning out to be a pretty great year for films. It certainly isn't the most technically daring. But it is still a sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and often poignant film. Provided your movie going plate isn't already full, I recommend checking it out.

Verdict: Recommend