Philomena (Oscar list, 6/9)

“…the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” t.s. eliot

Philomena is yet another true story, but despite the happy, bubbly image the movie poster evokes, do not be fooled. Philomena is the deep story of love, forgiveness and religion.

Story

Philomena Lee was a young Irish girl who was unmarried and pregnant. Unfortunately, Philomena’s plight was to be banished to an Abbey where nuns delivered her baby boy. Denying her pain medication or even to call a doctor, the nuns explain that her suffering was atonement for her sin. After a few wonderful years with her son, the Abbey eventually sells her son to a family for £1,000. Some 50 years later, Philomena has not forgotten the past. After meeting a disgruntled former BBC journalist and outspoken atheist named Martin, the unlikely duo begins their search of Philomena’s long lost son.

This film is interesting for 2 reasons. Firstly, of the “true story” films I have seen so far, this one is the most liberal (and least literal) in its screenplay. For example, sister Hiligarde (the main protagonist who had a fierce conversation with Martin in the film) passed away in real life before Martin and Philomena ever found her. Despite this obvious deviation from the truth, Philomena herself (the real person) has written an open letter to film critics defending this film, saying that Steven Frears (the director) has created something “extraordinary” and “quite real” which should be shared.

Secondly, speaking of Stephen Frears, this film is interesting because of him. This film, if you haven’t yet seen it, can accurately be described as “Catholic bashing”. While that may sound like a harsh label, you have to remember that Philomena is a real person, and this is her real life story. Where things get ugly is when you attach Stephen’s name to the film. I knew nothing of him before this picture, but a little Googleing revealed a spat he had with a film critic who accused Frears of having a career of anti Catholic films. While this seems to be an isolated accusation, it still should be noted.

Traumatic conflict.

Philomena is perhaps your favorite grandma. She has a beauty, calmness and sensibility about her. Martin by contrast, is your favorite friend who gets mad on your behalf.

Have you ever gotten over or forgiven someone, only to have your friend Martin show up, and explain to you why you should be upset? “It’s not fair” they will say. “They hurt you. You feel bad and you SHOULD feel bad. How dare they? This is ridiculous!” We all know this person and want them around in a strange cathartic way, because in many ways we want to justify and validate our emotions. The beauty of Philomena is that she constantly resists Martin’s temptation to despise those who hurt her 50 years ago. This is no small feat, because as much as we like to believe that hurt goes away with time, we know that this is not the case. The traumatic past must and will be dealt with at some point in time, even if it is 50 years later.

Recommendation

Oddly enough, I am finding a surprising amount of duality in my possible recommendation of this film. On the one hand, I do not want to recommend it because it appears to have a set agenda against the Catholic Church, which is told in a tabloid rather than factual manner. On the other hand, I do want to recommend this film because just as in 12 Years a Slave, bad things have happened in the past, and we (as humans) have the responsibility and obligation to acknowledge the past and learn from it, lest we should repeat history ourselves. This duality is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that Philomena has won best atheist film & best Catholic film from their respective award ceremonies.

Conclusion

Perhaps my problem with Philomena is that I know how I would have wanted it to be made had another director taken up the challenge.

Regardless, Philomena is a powerful story of love, forgiveness & religion. While it may seem contrived at times, the overarching theme of forgiveness steeped throughout brings a redeeming quality to this otherwise heartbreaking story. If only we had more Philomena’s in the world.