Philomena

"These two unlikely companions are on a journey to find her long lost son."

2013 1h 38m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 1,757

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.

“These two unlikely companions are on a journey to find her long lost son.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Judi Dench
Philomena
Steve Coogan
Martin Sixsmith
Sophie Kennedy Clark
Young Philomena
Mare Winningham
Mary Hess
Barbara Jefford
Sister Hildegarde
Ruth McCabe
Mother Barbara
Peter Hermann
Pete Olsson
Sean Mahon
Michael Hess

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Valerio Bonelli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and Sophie Kennedy Clark carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "These two unlikely companions are on a journey to find her long lost son.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2431286 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Frears directs. Robbie Ryan behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. Valerio Bonelli cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 8.3× over at the box office.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Valerio Bonelli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and Sophie Kennedy Clark carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "These two unlikely companions are on a journey to find her long lost son.".
8IMDB entry: tt2431286 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 24 themes, including "journalist", "london, england", "washington dc, usa", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Editing: Valerio Bonelli
Production design: Alan MacDonald
Makeup / hair: Lydia Bensimmon
Sound: Chris Burdon
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $100,100,000
Return: 834% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Philomena (2013)

Awards

Queer Lion

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stephen Frears

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Wilfred Sanders2023-03-23
★ 6/10
With all confidence, the story of the movie is undoubtedly wonderful, and it was exciting and passionate to follow it until the end, but I did not find the dramatic and emotional sense of the mother. I did not find that she really lost her son, but the feelings were mixed. The feelings and sense of losing the son could have been put in the right way better than this. There was no strong flashback showing the mother's life from her son. It was very useless. There are many hilarious moments and a banter link that extended to the end of the movie, which spoiled the drama of the story. I feel that the true feelings of the mother and her son, who was lost and never saw his real mother, should have been respected. Judi Dench was the reason I watched the movie. Her performance was wonderful in mixing her different emotions and feelings, sometimes she laughs, sometimes she cries, and sometimes she forgives. She really made a true story.

Production companies