Philomena (2013): Class conflict and questions of faith

The film follows Martin Sixsmith has been forced out of his job by parliament. He then stumbles upon a remarkable story about Philomena Lee, whose son was taken from her when she was at the 'home for unmarried mothers' in Ireland and now wants to track him down.

Philomena had a baby out of wedlock and was then taken in by the Magdalene Asylums. They were an institution that operated throughout Europe, the last institution in Ireland closed in 1996. In Ireland over 30, 000 women were imprisoned in these institutions headed by the Catholic Church. There is still an ongoing campaign to get these women justice so please spend a bit of time helping their cause: http://www.magdalenelaundries.com/ The Magdalene Sisters (2002) is a film that shows the horrors the women in these institutions had to go through. It is an incredibly powerful viewing and I'd recommend taking a look at it. I have also read The Light In The Window by June Goulding, which tells Goulding's story of when she worked in the 'home for unmarried mothers' as a midwife, where the content of the story again makes it feel like not only what happened to these women was criminal but so is the continued lack of remorse from the church and the lack of justice seen.

We first see Martin when he goes to his doctor and talks of being depressed and he is then shown in church listening to a choir, he looks completely lost. Martin is introduced by Philomena as a journalist that works with the BBC and a Roman Catholic, to which Martin replies to both statements that he 'used to be'. He is someone who doesn't believe in anything who is a direct opposite of Philomena. Philomena, despite what she went through, still believes in the Catholic church, still attends mass and has an unquestioning faith in God. The film is delicately written, with the screenplay written by Steve Coogan (who stars as Martin) and Jeff Pope, based on Martin Sixsmith's book The lost child of Philomena Lee. The script and Judi Dench's beautiful performance manages to show Philomena's struggle with her faith in the Catholic church, as she realises what they have done to her life and her son's. It is also shows an incredible amount of character the way she confronts her feelings towards the nuns and how she tries to forgive them for what they did despite still being heart broken over being separated from her child.

Martin meets Philomena through her daughter Jane, the arrange to meet in a pub. Jane apologises to Martin and says that it is Philomena's favourite. She is in effect apologising for her class, rather picking a posh restaurant she picks a Harvester, which is a place where middle class and working class people, usually families like to eat.  At the Harvester, Philomena asks Martin where he went to university. Martin states Oxford to which Philomena replies 'I knew you weren't a duffer', which means a term for a stupid person. He goes onto to say that he hasn't been to a Harvester and he goes to a pub locally, in Knightsbirdge. Philomena states 'Oh well, that must be incredibly expensive' as Knightsbridge is a very expensive part of London. This type of clash of class and money sets up the clash these two will have throughout the film.

Philomena states to Martin after he has an interaction with another journalist that 'Just because you're in first class doesn't make you a first class person'. Martin sees first class lifestyle with more expensive cars and food, however he is bitter and cynical and has a lot to learn from Philomena. She is kind to everyone she meets and Martin sees her kindness to staff as foolish in a way. He takes them for granted, almost like they aren't people. Philomena warns him that 'you should be nice to the people on the way up, because you might meet them again on the way down. Now you of all people should understand that.'

Even though Philomena feels devastated when she finds out Michael has died, she still wants to find out who Michael was as a person and how he lived his life. The film could have easily been over - sentimental and in your face, but it manages to weave in these questions of class and faith very gracefully as well as showing the strength of the human spirit.