Surprised by Philomena

This was not just another remake of the tragic Irish story, but a brilliant exploration of the raw feelings between a mother and her son, as mirrored by a disillusioned journalist caught in a mere common interest story. Steven Coogan explained to Andrew Marr this morning that he wanted to move through cynicism, past sentimentality towards sincerity and authenticity. Yes he was moved by reading the true story, and he gave himself the lead role because this was his chance to portray an alternative to the comedic Alpha Papa series. The script was authentic and it prompted independent thought and discussion about why the noble catholic church would sell illegitimate babies for cash at the same time as ignoring the mothers' feelings in the haze of punishment and penitance for carnal sins. It was easy to relate to Martin Sixsmith's anger, as a lapsed catholic. What was more challenging was to accept that Philomena was truly happy to receive confirmation that her son had considered her and that was sufficient to enable her to forgive such potentially damaging untruths. I personally could not believe that the nuns were so capable of blatant lies in the face of human suffering, but then perhaps theirs is not a normal life!

I was further incensed when I read more about Martin Sixsmith's journalistic challenge. It transpires that her son, the American Michael Hess was also tormented by his past and had visited the orphanage, to be turned away twice. I had under-estimated the real tragedy of both mother and son being unaware that they were trying to find each other, against the cruel manipulative lies of the church. How many other mothers and orphans have hidden similar stories of lost identities? A victory for human greed over spiritual compassion... All the while, Dame Judi Dench played the Irish mother with humour and integrity. Steve responded with a dry wit, announcing that he “now knows what a lifetime of reading romance novels, the Reader’s Digest and the Daily Mail can do to the human brain”. Together, they transformed this dire story into one of compassion and hope. Truly inspirational entertainment...