On Catholicism and Philomena

Catholicism comes under subtle, but harsh criticism in Stephen Frears’ new film, Philomena. Although the larger slice of the credit for bringing Philomena to the screen goes to Steven Coogan as writer, producer and actor. As a biography this is far more interesting than the rock and roll rags-to-riches-to-rags biographies that are usually made and that is because Philomena is real. It is immediately relatable even though the subject matter is horrifically difficult and will be unique to most audiences.

The good guy of the film (although nothing is black and white) is Coogan’s journalist and to some extent Philomena, although she is a little too resigned, understandably, to be a hero. The bad guy is the Catholic Church, here represented by a convent in Ireland. While Philomena refuses to blame the church, the film paints her as a figure of the past, while Coogan’s Sixsmith presents a more contemporary view and his often savage critique of the church and religion rings true. Yet Coogan and Frears recognise the difficulty of their subject matter and allow the audience to judge, without judging themselves. Although they gently push the audience towards a criticism of Catholicism.

Philomena manages to successfully be a balanced criticism of Catholicism, with particular focus on the convent where Philomena was forced to stay. An environment that was occasionally kind, frequently cruel and without doubt an incredibly oppressive religious environment. The cruellest part is that interviews with the actual Philomena Lee reveal the film to take few liberties.

Philomena is a quietly impressive piece of cinema.