Philomena-Stephen Frears

After seeing Steve Coogan in Coffee and Cigarettes earlier this year and was very impressed with what I had seen I made it a point to search a bit more extensively into his catalog for a few more gems. Prior to watching Philomena I watched 24-Hour Party People and was supremely impressed with that film and followed that showing up with Philomena. Steve's acting skills are incredibly impressive and I consider being able to watch him take on the drastic variance of roles to be one of the many privileges in embarking upon previously uncharted celluloid boulevards. Before renting Philomena from the library I only remembered the slight buzz around its release and that it had garnered widespread acclaim. But based upon the cover I figured it to be some lighthearted comedy between unlikely compadres and not worth a watch. What was rather astonishing to me was the potent guttural punch this film delivered in exposing one of the (many) scathing scandals surrounding the Catholic Church that they would rather the world continue to be incognizant of. I knew the Catholic Church had its fair share of heinous scandals—it comes to be synonymous with any billion-dollar empire—but dabbling in the flesh trade was not on my radar. Philomena's struggle within and against a corrupt institution that took it upon themselves to bypass Romans 12:19-21 and dish out punishment as an excuse to line their own pockets, was very heartbreaking. This brings to light the issue of organized religious institutions that unbalance the commandments of the Lord and reduce his loving kindness into a rigid taskmaster who is eager to strike down a bolt of lightning upon those who inevitably slip into sin and make mistakes. *** Before we get into that, I think it is only fair to give a skim glimpse into what Philomena endured. The main character of Philomena (Judy Dench) as a teen gives in to temptation at a county fair, has a one-night dalliance with a stranger and ends up becoming pregnant. Upon this information, her father sends her off to a convent called Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea Ireland to regain composure of her life and repent for her sins. Shortly thereafter she gives birth and over the next four years she, and other, girls who live at the convent are provided minimal visitations with their children that are brief and emotionally gut-wrenching to watch. The poor young mothers make the most of this slim window of time with their children before they are ushered back into a life of servitude in washing dishes, doing laundry, yard work, and various other tasks to repent for their sins. Unbeknownst to these women, the children are only stationed at the convent temporarily as orphans for purchase to wealthy Americans, and without warning or a chance to say goodbye, once a suitable buyer is found, the children simply vanish overnight, leaving behind heartbroken mothers who are left to wonder what ever becomes of their children in the world. *** The Bible is full of tales of those who, while dedicated to the Lord, suffered both justly (David, Moses, Judas, Paul) and unjustly (Joseph, David, Jesus). The common thread binding all of these people together—both the saints and the unjust—was the ultimate fulfillment of God's purpose, absent of human interference. He used enemies of the saints as instruments to achieve his purpose, sure, but it was only through his guidance that the end was to be achieved. With Philomena (and the rest of Sean Ross Abbey's victims) the unjust separation between young surrogate mothers and their children and the audacity of the Nun's to sanctify their actions as meting out the punishment of violating the Lord's commandments by having sex out of wedlock, profiting cash in the process then burning all of the documents to permanently sever the tether between mother and child. Call me crazy, but I find it incredibly hard to believe this to be an advancement of God's kingdom here on earth. But, then again, maybe that was never the goal in the first place to begin with. Through the shield of well-fortified institutions or mantras, many heinous atrocities can proceed unabated. Frederick Douglass observed this firsthand in his autobiography when his slave masters would find God and delude themselves into believing that their right to ownership over another human being was a blessing from above, and so found no compunction in torturing their slaves for disobedience because their "property" was God-given. The long-standing history of dedication to the state of Germany had such deep-seeded roots that when fascism took hold, Hitler exploited this unquestioned obedience to his advantage and carried out widespread blood lust with loyal soldiers carrying out orders under the assumption of total impunity for their actions, because orders, no matter how insane they may be, were to be followed no matter what. Pol Pot did the same with the Khmer Rouge through the medium of communism to exonerate his actions of evacuating Cambodian cities into the countryside killing fields to toil and dying for the advancement of a utopia that would never arrive. Stalin, Jim Jones, and Synanon all utilized these umbrellas to their advantage much like Roscrea did to Philomena. Did these Nun's who carried out these actions believe they were acting as the hands of Christ in their actions? Or were they merely penguin cloaked con-artists taking advantage of a situation where they held the upper hand? Based on the fact that they fattened the coffers, I'm willing to bet on the latter. But who's to say? I've worked firsthand at a convent in Parma Heights and the Nun's there were nothing short of amazing. Every single one of them. So this scathing criticism isn't meant to be a widespread condemnation of the Catholic order based upon the misdeeds of a tiny sect. But merely to point out that punishment for sin, much like everything else in life, is best left in God's hands. He knows what he's doing. *** So far as the actual film goes I thought Coogan and Dench were a terrific duo that worked great together and acted out their parts with brilliant skill. The story was very intriguing, thought-provoking, and emotionally stirring. I loved the dialogue between Philomena and Martin Sixsmith and found it especially enjoyable when they traded atheist and gospel barbs like a sword fight at times. Great movie. Heartbreaking at times, but a very good watch.

Stars: ****

Verdict: Watch

Cousins: Sleepers, The Verdict, Women Talking, Schindlers List