Philomena (2013)

A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Steve Coogan (screenplay), Jeff Pope (screenplay)

Stars:

Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 76 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Philomena
Steve Coogan	...	Martin Sixsmith
Sophie Kennedy Clark	...	Young Philomena
Mare Winningham	...	Mary
Barbara Jefford	...	Sister Hildegarde
Ruth McCabe	...	Mother Barbara
Peter Hermann	...	Pete Olsson
Sean Mahon	...	Michael
Anna Maxwell Martin	...	Jane
Michelle Fairley	...	Sally Mitchell
Wunmi Mosaku	...	Young Nun
Amy McAllister	...	Sister Anunciata
Charlie Murphy	...	Kathleen
Cathy Belton	...	Sister Claire
Kate Fleetwood	...	Young Sister Hildegarde

Storyline

When former journalist Martin Sixsmith is dismissed from the Labour Party in disgrace, he is at a loss as to what do. That changes when a young Irish woman approaches him about a story of her mother, Philomena, who had her son taken away when she was a teenage inmate of a Catholic convent. Martin arranges a magazine assignment about her search for him that eventually leads to America. Along the way, Martin and Philomena discover as much about each other as about her son's fate. Furthermore, both find their basic beliefs challenged.

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Plot Keywords:

catholic | convent | human interest story | irish adoption board | catholic church | 

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Taglines:

The true story of a search for a lost son.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for some strong language, thematic elements and sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Filomena

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,509,726 (United Kingdom), 3 November 2013, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$128,435, 22 November 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$37,707,719, 16 May 2014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$100,112,825, 5 May 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Weinstein Company, Yucaipa Films, Pathé

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ireland's RTE One showed this on St Patrick's Day 2016, they skipped over all of the opening animated co-production partner Production Company Credits that included The Weinstein Company, Pathe, BBC Films, The UK National Lottery, BFI (British Film Institute). Its plausible that this may have been done as a creative broadcasting choice due to such an Irish subject, being co-funded by many British companies, on a day celebrating Irishness, may have caused offence to some.

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Goofs

The Ford Escape, which Pete drives in the US in 2004, is a second generation model from 2007.

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Quotes

Philomena: Remember Martin, it isn't their fault. They didn't know Anthony had a different name.
Martin Sixsmith: One of them did.

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Crazy Credits

Real footage of Anthony/Michael is shown at the ending credits

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Connections

Referenced in The Trip to Spain (2017)

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Soundtracks

Nocturne In F-Sharp, Op. 15, No. 2
(uncredited)
Composed by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

Spot on

Fabulous piece of work by all concerned. We get to see all sides of a single story without excessive back flips, cartwheels and other cinematic tricks. Coogan has got the measure of this story and pulls off a truly convincing performance as Sixsmith whilst Dench almost manages to do an entire film with a dialect....occasionally lapses but you may not notice. This is a real tear-jerker at points, thought provoking at many junctures and full of ironic humour. That's quite a feat and the more enjoyable for being so. I presume the timescale is roughly ten years ago so attempts at getting tech right for the period is still possible - amazing that so recent history can seem like centuries ago when we see old technology in use. I can see this film being a 'classic' long before it reaches any real age. Its the 21st century version of a 19th century Dickens tale, that it is.