Philomena

Philomena

Fri 1/31 6:30 w/ beer/wine in mezzanine; Sat 2/1 4:00 & 9:00; Sun 2/2 5:00; Mon 2/3 9:00; Tue 2/4 6:30; Wed 2/5 9:00; Thur 2/6 6:30

Dir: Stephen Frears / 2013 / UK / 98 min/DCP

The always stunning Judi Dench stars in Philomena as a British woman whose search to find her son, placed in an American adoptive home 50 years ago by the Catholic Church, is being documented by reporter Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan). The screenplay was written by Coogan and Jeff Pope based on Sixsmith’s nonfiction book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. Dench and Coogan’s journey takes them to unexpected places resulting in a mix of humor and heartbreak. The film is expertly directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dirty Pretty Things) and has already taken home awards at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. Dench shows her remarkable range as an actress; innocent and devout Philomena Lee is about as different a character from her well known tough-as-nails M in the recent James Bond films as possible. Bill Zwecker of The Chicago Sun Times raves, “Director Steven [sic] Frears deserves special mention. A lesser filmmaker could so easily have turned this project into mushy, sentimental junk. The tear-jerking moments here are heartfelt and real. It’s the kind of filmmaking we see too little of today.”