Wordiezett So much average

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

PeaceGuard What I mean by moral controversy is part in which Philomena forgives the last living nun from her times the atrocities that she's responsible for, giving "a good Christian example". The problem is it's nowhere near a good example. In the end she decides that the story of her life should be published which obviously is the only right choice, but the sole fact of doubting it wrong. Just the same as we would not want any pedophilia case to be covered, we would not want the same to happen with practices from this movie that involved conscious murder by negligence (at childbirth and others), human trafficking, virtually slavery, covering up all of these, which relates not only to the past, but also to the present part of the film's storyline. For every such incident that will successfully get covered, another one will be enabled somewhere else. Just the same as the recent exposing of sexual harassment leads to less incidence of it in the future. Also, let's remember it's far from only about Philomena. She has no right to make a decision about tens of women and children only by herself. She's only one of many. What happened there is a wide practice regarding multiple individuals, including many who cannot make a decision for themselves (about potential forgiveness), because their dead and even if all would, it's still a matter of state interest, because it's about the TRUTH and PREVENTION.

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

tenshi_ippikiookami "Philomena" could be the typical movie that goes for the easy tear and that is cheesy and shallow (kind of like the books the main character seems to read on trips).But Stephen Frears does an amazing job in bringing to life and making us care and worry about Philomena's plight to find the son that was stolen from her. He takes a true and sad story charges it with a punch that will hit most of its viewers really hard.The story is simple. Philomena decides to tell that she had a son, and that she would like to find him. Her daughter meets fallen from grace journalist Martin Sixsmith, who becomes interested in the story. And Philomena and Martin go on a search that will bring a dark truth to light.Frears does a great job on not making this story a show against the Catholic church. He and Coogan and Pope adapting Sixmith's story, do a great job in making this the story of Philomena, of a woman who was robed of her son, and with this, of a part of herself. And Judi Dench is more than amazing as the main character. She is subtle, touching and says so much without having to make a speech or say something deep that even for her high standards, is a revelation. Her Philomena is a woman full of flaws that some people, when meeting, would look from over their shoulders, but then learn to respect her views and her believes. Coogan, as the posh Sixmith, does a great job (even if once or twice it seems he is going into comedic mode) too of showing the "educated" man that can't understand some of Philomena's decisions but that ends caring more about her than about the story. As said, this could be a little bit cheesy but Frears, the actors and the script don't let it become so.This is a great movie, touching, subtle and powerful. Totally worth checking out.