Based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, Philomena focuses on the efforts of Philomena Lee (Judy Dench), mother to a boy conceived out of wedlock — something her Irish-Catholic community didn’t have the highest opinion of — and given away for adoption in the United States. Following the rules of the convent where she gives birth, she’s made to sign a contract that forbids inquiry into her son’s whereabouts. Years later, Philomena meets Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), a BBC reporter with whom she sets out to discover her long-lost son.
(UK, 2013, 95 min.) dir. Stephen Frears, w/Judi Dench, Steve Coogan