Dame Judi’s finest hour

Stephen Frears’ latest “inspired by a true story” drama is a rousing crowd-pleaser that will make you cry and laugh throughout with its extraordinary retelling of what started off as a horrifying event. A child is torn away from his mother, and for 50 long years she has kept this a secret, ashamed of such past, stemming from her long-running faith in the Catholic Church. She finally gathers up the courage to share this painful information, which leads to a desperate search for her long-lost son who she knows nothing about, but who she has never stopped thinking of. Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) is one of many women who were sent off to an Irish convent to spend their youthful years working almost like slaves under the fierce command of harsh, strict nuns. A pregnancy out of wedlock and a forced adoption abroad is her “human-interest” story, and helping her tell this is disgraced ex-BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan). Together Philomena and Martin strike up the unlikeliest friendship in search for a boy they only know as Anthony. And so starts the thoroughly entertaining journey that eventually takes them across the Atlantic to the States where the two outstanding performances of the film’s leads are put to tremendous use. Dench’s heart-breaking portrayal is without doubt the highlight, and so are the outrageously hysterical one-liners Philomena comes up with, said in all seriousness without actually trying to be funny. We saw Dame Maggie Smith drop the f-bomb in last year’s Quartet. Here Dame Judi Dench drops a “c” one...not THE C-word...but something close. With her incredibly sweet and moving performance, Dench is an unstoppable powerhouse breaking your heart with her every glance. Her travel companion Coogan is equally as effective, providing the complete opposite of the God-respecting, very courteous, socially unaware grandmother. Together they enter deep discussions about religion, sex, among others, and it’s an on-screen pairing that is never boring. Sixsmith at first isn’t all that invested in the story: it’s something he does instead of writing books about Russian history he knows no one will read now that he’s unemployed. And yes they have their differences, most obviously so when it comes to discussing God, but as time goes by he warms to her view of the world, and is clearly drawn more and more to help her find closure. There are many unexpected turns the film takes, none of them an unbelievable development, but ones that amount to something a lot more poignant and thought-provoking. Tears will flow as Dench dominates the screen with never-ending warmth, and when there is sadness there will be as many moments of laughter, and it’s this delicate balance that gives the film its endless likability, one that is never forced, but instead charms with its gentle, genuine storytelling.