Philomena

PhilomenaTonight, I went across the street to the Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center for a screening of the new film “Philomena” with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, who also wrote and produced the movie.  Tender and traditionally told, the story centers on a not-too-bright Irish woman who longs to find the son taken from her as an unwed mother in a convent.

The stories of the ‘Magdalene Girls‘, as these young women came to be known, is a familiar one by now.  So you go to this one for the performances.  Dench, as ever, is tremendously subtle and sensitive.  The packed house stayed in its seats all through the credits, something I’m not used to in the movie theater.  Some things are just best left to a good ol’ storytelling.  Look for this one at Oscar time.

Exiting the theater, it’s back to the real world.  A poster had been slapped onto a light pole–man and dog murdered, $60,000 reward.

One thought on “Philomena

  1. Thank you for review Rena. Judi Dench is one of the few real actors in film today.
    We saw MacBeth at Lincoln Center while in NYC and we extremely disappointed.
    Several years ago we had seen Kevin Kline in Henry the 4th (I believe) He was excellent. His stage presence was commanding. this time MacBeth was played by Ethan Hawke. What an absolute disappointment. A casting disaster. he either muttered or shouted. the beauty of Shakespeare is his words. We might as well been at a rock concert. the special effect dominated. the three witches were bearded males and one pranced around like a transvestite showing sagging breasts. Lady MacBeth might as well been speaking German for all that we could discern. Costumes were gorgeous but Shakespeare himself was not on the stage.
    People near us in the audience and when walking outside the theater agreed that they were very disappointed. What a waste of money that was.

    I am way behind in reading your posts will try to catch up soon. Did respond to one in NYC but it must have not been sent. So sorry that our schedule did not allow time to get together with you. Our time was brief there.

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