It is quiet, restrained, unfussy, and has, at its heart, an injustice so grave it will make your blood boil. You will also cry.

| Sep 5, 2018

Despite its weighty themes, Stephen Frears' film is almost as much a comedy as a drama.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 6, 2017

The movie is a bit of a puzzle coming from atheist co-writer Steve Coogan and the script grapples with these big questions of religion, class, and justice in a way that's far beyond the typical teary human-interest story.

| May 10, 2016

One of the best purely British films of the year.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 23, 2013

[The final act is] a great half hour or so of film -- funny, charming, sad, satisfying -- but the rest of Philomena isn't so up to snuff.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 22, 2013

What at first seems formulaic comedy gains a deeper resonance as we see how they represent two responses to cruelty and injustice -- first outrage, and with time, eventually, forgiveness.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 22, 2013

It's smart and unsweetened.

| Dec 10, 2013

Even as Philomena embraces the expected feel-good dynamics, it avoids taking the usual path and doesn't paint all of the "evil" nuns with the same brush.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 28, 2013

Solving this mystery is not nearly as engrossing as watching the actors' pas de deux.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 27, 2013

We wouldn't care about any of this if the performances were weak. But both actors find complexity and depth.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 27, 2013

At its core, this clever, wrenching, profound story underscores the tenacity of faith in the face of unfathomable cruelty.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 27, 2013

Director Steven 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.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 27, 2013

Dench is a delight, playing dowdy instead of her standard regal, and Coogan is appropriately droll and disillusioned. Together they manage to make a sad story feel somehow bright.

| Original Score: B | Nov 27, 2013

A true story that takes unexpected, unusually poignant turns.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 27, 2013

Go beyond the manner of its telling and you find a story of cruelty and evil, of shocking acts committed under a veneer of civility and sanctity.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 26, 2013

"Philomena" is a tearjerker of rare honesty and craft.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 26, 2013

An utterly charming combination of road trip, odd-couple comedy and heart-touching true story that will leave few dry-eyed, "Philomena" rests comfortably in the lap of the great Judi Dench.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 26, 2013

The story touches on some of the thorniest issues of Catholic doctrine and tempers its righteous anger with a tone more sad than bitter.

| Nov 26, 2013

Director Stephen Frears manages to successfully walk the tricky line between comedy and dark drama. It keeps the audience off-kilter a bit, but in a good way; we shouldn't always need to know what's coming next, in terms of tone or plot.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 26, 2013

Dench, Coogan and sure-handed director Stephen Frears ("The Queen") keep the focus on character, and in "Philomena" they've got an earthbound angel.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 26, 2013