An Excellent Character-Centric Film

   I found Stephen Frear’s Philomena floating around on a Netflix recommended list and decided to try watching something a little out of my genre. I’m normally not entertained by dramas unless they involve explosives but Philomena surprised me by keeping me well entertained with a gripping story and sporadic bursts of often profound humor. The movie is technically about an old Irish woman looking for her long lost son and the downtrodden reporter writing her story, however in my opinion the movie is more about the two main characters' journeys. 

   Philomena's story begins with introductions to the main characters and then quickly has them set off on a road trip to the old church where Philomena's son was given away. They are eventually forced to continue their search in America. There is some friction between the two of them that becomes exacerbated through stress, especially when they learn of her son's death. They decide to continue searching for information even after learning of his demise and eventually learn that he had also been searching for his mother. They learn that the nuns of the church had been concealing this information willingly to punish Philomena and cover up their wrong-doings.

   Throughout the film Philomena and Martin go on multiple journeys both physical and spiritual. The movie overtly follows the two’s search for Philomena’s son while allowing you to occasionally glimpse their inner struggles. It also accentuates all of this with witty and sometimes surprising humor. Overall I believe that Philomena is an exceptional drama, it keeps viewers invested in the characters through ongoing character development and vivid acting, it has an almost completely character driven plot and it controls the mood with sporadic humor.

Dynamic Duo

            Philomena begins its character development process by introducing a mildly depressed Martin Sixsmith. Martin has been fired for saying something he didn’t say while the media, which he was once a member of, is exaggerating a careless sentence into a full-blown scandal. One scene has a contemplative Martin attending church with his wife until he abruptly leaves the service. Martin’s wife later confronts him about it and he replies that he’s uncomfortable because he doesn’t believe in god and he thinks the priest knows it.

            After Martin’s introduction the film immediately shows an elderly Philomena praying alone. A series of flashbacks begin to show us Philomena’s tragic story. After a young and innocent Philomena falls for a boy, she gets pregnant and goes to the church for help. The church helps Philomena deliver her baby but keeps her as a virtual prisoner while she works of the debt of their generosity. Philomena works hard every day while looking forward to the one hour she gets with her child, all of the women with her scramble to see their children when finally allowed. This continues until her child is taken away amidst her crying screams.

            The film gives the viewer some background to understand the characters and uses it to show us the gradual development of martin and Philomena. Philomena is torn between the shames of her sins. Her baby was born through premarital sex but she also cannot stand to continue lying about his existence. Martin is confounded by her continued faith in god. How could she still believe in a god whose nuns imprisoned her and sold her child away? Martin continues to express his anger and broken faith to Philomena throughout the film until even she begins to doubt her faith. The tension builds until Philomena loses her temper with Martin and storms off to a roadside church. As Philomena sits inside the confession booth to confess her sins and relieve tension, she finds herself completely unable to speak. She storms back out of the church to Martin’s bewilderment and the two continue their drive.

Characters Drive the Story From Behind the Wheel of a Car.

   Philomena is a story driven forward by its characters (often literally) and only nudged by transpiring events. At any given moment within the film, the narrative stalls completely until either Martin or Philomena act to make something happen. In fact, the movie begins with Philomena’s self-conflict and her ensuing decision to look for her son. It is important for a good drama to be character-driven because it gives us the sense that these characters are influencing their world and each other in a very real way.

   One obvious instance of this is when Philomena and Martin first get to the church to inquire about her son. The nuns of the church are unhelpful and the pair appears to have hit a wall. Philomena’s gentle and polite nature prevents her from fighting but Martin is not so easily deterred. Martin tries to strong-arm the nuns in vain but later tracks down some information that leads him to doubt the nuns’ good intentions. He then finds an alternative source of information which requires Philomena to travel to America. Philomena and Martin have a discussion and she cheerfully agrees to go.

   Martin manages to make some progress in finding Philomena’s son and learns that he has already passed away. Philomena is devastated by this news and decides that she would rather just go home than continue to learn about his life. The story seems to almost die as Martin and Philomena lose their drive and flounder in indecisiveness. Martin is convinced by his editor that he still needs to write a story and he reluctantly attempts to call Philomena. His calls go unanswered and he panics, worrying about her mental state. Martin convinces the staff to let him in her room and rushes to find her standing out on the balcony. Philomena professes her innocent intentions but Martin’s worry leads him to convince Philomena that learning more about her son’s life will help her find consolation.

Martin Learns Patience

            Philomena likes to surprise the viewer with its humor when they least expect it. Philomena herself is an old Irish catholic woman who worked as a nurse for much of her life, these influences combined have made her both traditionally polite and modernly practical in her views. Martin on the other hand is oftentimes brusque or downright rude with a tendency towards sarcasm and wit. The duo manage to leave their audience tittering through some moments and gasping in delighted surprise at others.

Martin and Philomena’s first encounter gives a hint at the potential laughs while the two make small talk over lunch. Philomena tells Martin about her recent hip replacement saying “it’s titanium, so it wont rust.” Martin responds that it’s good that they won’t have to oil her like the tinman then. Philomena gets a confused look on her face and Martin attempts to explain his Wizard of Oz reference. Meeting only further confusion, he gives up and talks about his mother’s knee replacements instead. Philomena bursts into affected laughter as she expects more jokes and Martin takes his turn to act perplexed.

Another golden moment of the movie happens when Philomena first learns about her son through one of his friends. The friend is talking about her son when Philomena abruptly asks if he had any children. The friend gets apprehensive as she explains that Philomena’s son was gay. The viewer gets a perfect view of Philomena’s unflinching expression as she politely repeats her question. At this point the friend and Martin’s expressions show their fear that the old woman may not even know what gay means and the necessary explanation this would require. Philomena lets them and the audience stew for a full minute before she explains that she already expected he might be gay from his childhood personality and that she’s quite knowledgeable about gays from her work with male nurses.

            Martin does get his occasional one liners but most often succeeds as a poor patsy for Philomena’s antics. The movie ends this way with a scene of Philomena explaining in excruciating detail the plot of her most recent romance novel. After learning to respect Philomena throughout the movie, the viewer can feel Martin’s pain as he good-naturedly prompts her to continue her explanation of the book.

Four Thumbs Up

                All in all, I believe that Philomena is an excellent film. Anyone who can appreciate a well written drama will leave this movie with a smile on their face and something to think about, anyone looking for action or intensity however, should probably look elsewhere for their entertainment. Judi Dench plays her role as Philomena with the perfect blend of unassuming old lady and woman on a mission. Steve Coogan also does a great job playing a taciturn journalist while he simultaneously acts as a screenwriter and producer for the film. The journalist Michael Smith and I are in complete agreement when he says that “Philomena is a marvelous little movie, a heartwarming drama with plenty of comedic pathos.”

Works Cited

Philomena. Dir. Stephen Frears. Perf. Judi Dench, Steve Coogan and Sophie Kennedy Clark. Weinstein Company, 2013. Film.

Smith, Michael. "Review: Philomena." Tulsa World (OK) 27 Nov. 2013: Newspaper Source. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.