It always makes me sad when older actors must play roles that require them to simply be old. Unfortunately for Judi Dench, Philomena casts her in just such a role. While not a bad film, it is an underwhelming bore that reduces real people to mere caricatures.
Directed by Stephen Frears, the movie tells the true story of “Philomena Lee” (Dench), an elderly woman who had her son taken away from her when she was a teenage inmate of a Catholic convent. When she meets disgraced news anchor “Martin Sixsmith” (Steve Coogan), she is given the opportunity to finally embark upon a mission to find her long-lost child.
If it all sounds a bit overwrought and sentimental, it certainly is, although Frears does a relatively decent job of keeping the emotional manipulation to a minimum. The problem, though, is that Coogan and Jeff Pope’s screenplay turns living, breathing human beings into bland character types. For example, although she’s probably a fascinating person in real life, the film version of Philomena Lee gives her only two settings: adorably aged naif and traumatized victim. As for Sixmith, Coogan’s co-writing duties apparently didn’t involve giving himself anything to do.
It is therefore difficult to judge the quality of the performances, as the actors can really only work with what they’re given. Dench is, of course, a delight, but even she grows a bit tiresome after her fifth quirky one-liner. The same stands for Coogan, whose talent is wasted on a character whose main trait is overwhelming grumpiness.
All in all, I find it difficult to recommend Philomena. It isn’t painful or offensive in any way, but it is a waste of the talent involved in the project.
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