Movie_Muse_Reviews The mystery of a woman searching for her lost child of 50 years; an overly polite old lady and a disgraced former journalist on an intercontinental journey; an uncovered scandal in the Catholic Church — "Philomena" has it all, and that's before you count Dame Judi Dench.Based on "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee" by Martin Sixsmith, the story follows Sixsmith's journey with Lee to find her son, Anthony, who was taken from her and put up for adoption in the 1950s by the nuns who took her in (and countless other young mothers with unplanned pregnancies whose families shunned them).Steve Coogan stars as Sixsmith, the journalist who lost his job as communications director for Britain's Department for Transport as a result of a leaked email scandal. Encouraged to write a human interest piece as a bit of a rebound for his writing career, he learns of Philomena's story from her daughter (Anna Maxwell Martin). Intrigued enough, Martin and Philomena revisit her old convent and travel to America in hopes they can track Anthony down.Their journey contains both inspiration and anger, suspense and poignance, humor and heartbreak. It's one of those perfect stories and Coogan and co-writer Jeff Pope capture it with an equaling compelling script that balances the wide range of tones and emotions, transitioning through them with elegance.Yet "Philomena" has plenty to say that's not on the page. The team of Dench and director Stephen Frears ("The Queen") prove as formidable as you'd imagine. Mostly it's Frears giving way to Dench's masterful performance, but he shows expert judgment in when to lean on his ace. Few can quietly contemplate on screen like Dench, pulling us into her character's thoughts and allowing us to settle easily into Philomena's worldview. This woman has been haunted every day by the child that was taken from her more than 50 years ago, and we get to not only follow her as she discovers the truth, but watch as she reckons with that information. How she processes the complex emotions that pour out of this story compared to how Martin processes them compared to how we as viewers process them is a significant piece of what resonates so fiercely about "Philomena."As often as Frears has cause to focus in on Dench's watery blue eyes, however, there's a healthy dose of comedy, no doubt thanks to Coogan's involvement. It all serves to give us a complete portrait of Philomena. She's principled but not angry, lost but devout, polite but foul-mouthed, easily pleased by simple things but not naive. Dench conveys them all in her performance, and it's as compelling to watch her go toe to toe with Coogan as it is to see how she'll handle the story's biggest moments.The story is so effortlessly good that it would be hard to mess it up, but the use of flashbacks in the beginning and also fake home video footage throughout slide us even deeper into Philomena's shoes. The combination of technique, writing and performance creates instantaneous investment in the story that lasts through the film's final moment. In fact, the film's only faults can be ascribed to not going deep enough into each of the story's many facets. More time could easily have been devoted to Martin's backstory, or the implications of these convents selling off children. Yet there's a certain beauty in limiting the scope of the film to this concrete stretch of time in which Martin and Philomena meet each other and set off searching for answers. "Philomena" could've easily lost its identity wandering into the many potential rabbit holes that emerge as the puzzle comes together piece by piece. Instead, the film focuses on an emotional, empathy-building, thought-provoking 98 minutes that stand testament to the powerful and invaluable role of stories.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Miguel Neto That was the movie I least wanted to see the nominated Oscar in 2014 , most ended up being one of my favorites to win, Philomena is a great movie with a great story , the script is well written , the cast is a plus, Judi Dench is great , the soundtrack fits the film, the picture is very good, the direction is good too, Steve Coogan is very well in this film , the characters in the film are well placed , it is nice to see the journey of it to search for child she did not see 50 years, the chemistry of Judi Dench and Steve Coogan is very good, the costumes is also good , the film as well as virtually all of the same theme, criticizes the Catholic church , and the film has good moments of humor. Note 8.7

Kirpianuscus it could be a wise adaptation of a page from past. it could be beautiful demonstration of high performance. but it is only a superb film. for its universal story because it is the story of a mother looking the truth. Judi Dench does not only a great job but impose the right tone to a very delicate subject. a film who propose a way to accept the past, to use the mercy as answer to profound pain, to imagine alternative future, to define yourself front to new facts who are parts from a lost happiness. a film like support for reflection. about a case. or about society and its rules. a film who has chance to not only reflect an experience. but to propose a touching, useful solution against the fear to be yourself. because, it is a brilliant film about courage.

phoenix 2 A political journalist is moved by the story of a woman who tries to find her son after 50 years and so he takes upon helping her and writing her story. As it is based on real facts, the story couldn't have outdone itself. But the simplicity of it along with the extraordinary twists gives the movie a freshness that couldn't be found in a made up story. The performances are brilliant, along with simple, real dialogues. The story doesn't focus only on Philomena finding her son, but on the role of church in it, of society and how religion can be viewed differently from different people. Philomena is kind hearted, religious but flexible. She forgives the people who have harmed her and she loves her boy, even if she hadn't seen him for 50 years and he is different of what she expected. So 7 out of 10, only because the movie tended to focus on the journalist and his character more than on Philomena's story.