Philomena

Photo credithttp://o.canada.com/

Philomena was not a film I cared to watch. I didn't want to watch an old woman who tried to find her son. But it was on dvdigi and I decided to watch for a few minutes to see what the fuss was about. Aaaaand about half an hour later I was completely into it and crying buckets.

First off it is a good script. Full of nice little touches that reminds one of her own mother independent of socio cultural differences. Also I loved the story. Philomena is actually looking for the son she gave birth at a very young age and has given not only her baby, but also her labour (7 days a week) to a nunnery in exchange for a safe place to stay and her baby being properly taken care of. She and the others in there are only allowed to see their children one hour a day. And if one gets adopted then they don't have any say in the process or any chance to oppose it. Philomena's child is adopted when he is three years old and she now tries to find him, she has of course thought about him all these years and wanted to find him but the nuns didn't help her. When she has a chance to get help from a journalist (fired and disgraced) she agrees to receive his investigative and monetery help in exchange for her story. So first they visit the nuns and they are lied to but the journalist will prove to be very helpful, not only in location her son but also...

I think I have only watched Dangerous Liasions from Mr.Frears' filmography but this one hooked me and didn't let me go. And at the end credits I have found out that this is a true story with real life photos of Philomena and the journalist (stayed away from spoilers even in that one).

Great performances (and I don't even like Judi Dench (gasp!)) and wonderful cinematography which gave me my close up shots and a tidy viewing.

Highly recommended. I'm so glad I've watched it.