Philomena (****)

Oh how I adore you, Judi Dench. One of the most remarkable actresses that has ever graced the screen. Can she do no wrong? What seemed like a slight comedy in the trailer comes a powerful and emotionally honest story of a woman looking for her adopted child. Directed by Steven Frears (you know him for directing 'The Queen'), 'Philomena' is as well-rounded as any movie this year and features one of the best leading performances to boot.

As a young girl, Philomena becomes pregnant. Taken in by a group of Irish nuns, she is forced to work off her sins as penance and her son is adopted to an American family against her will. The memories of her son haunt her to this day, and it's the realization that her lying about the truth for all this time is a sin in itself is what sets the story in motion.

Well, not entirely. Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) is a recently-fired as a political advisor and is looking for work. Maybe he'll write a book on Russian history... Maybe not. Like fate, he comes to hear of Philomena and her struggle to find out what happened to her now 50-year-old son, Anthony. Taken by the 'human' element of the story and the appeal of getting work published, they set off to America, where they search for records of the adoption (how convenient that the nunery had a massive fire destroying all records?)

Judi Dench gives such a natural sensibility to Philomena. She is kind, complimentary, worried more about burdening Sixsmith than finding out the truth. She is almost his opposite. Sixsmith is solely concerned with finding the ending to his story and returning to London with Philomena, happy or not. Likewise for Steve Coogan. He is stern, non-religious, interested only in facts. And yet he grows to care for Philomena. They're subtle but great performances, both of them.

The film has a strong conviction against the Catholic Church and its policies regarding children born out of wedlock, but at the same time it does not entirely rule out forgiveness as a final option. For every day in the last 50 years, Philomena has prayed for her son. She hasn't the heart to hate the nuns that brought her pain about. It's not the Christian thing to do.

It's easy to recognize the work of a great director, and Frears effortlessly directs the film. At times I felt too spoon fed, and as an audience member I wished certain aspects of the film weren't spelled out so neatly for me. The film shows flashbacks of Philomena with her son and at the convent, but these contribute next to nothing to the story and are distracting to say the least. The film opens with an extended flashback of her getting pregnant and having her child. My God, the film just started! Sometimes mystery is a good thing.

Nonetheless, the film is joyous and oftentimes powerful. Alexander Desplat lends himself to a beautiful score and the film has some beautiful moments. Yes, filmmaking is a combination of elements, from the screenplay to the editing, but without a great leading actor, your film is finished. Thank God for Judi Dench.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Actress (Dench), Best Supporting Actor (Coogan), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score)