Philomena (2013)

Whenever I heard that Philomena was coming out, I kept wondering if it was another Disney movie.  Doesn't that totally sound like a Disney princess name?

Philomena is one of those 'based on a true story' films where the story seems too strange to be true.  Unless you've already read the book it's based on, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith, or are a huge fan of random, human interest stories, I'm guessing that most haven't heard of this.  In summary, Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) got pregnant as a teen, and was sent to live in a convent in Ireland.  She was forced to give up her son for adoption, and kept this a secret for 50 years.  Philomena decides to track down her son, mainly with the goal of learning if he at least led a happy life.

Journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), who recently lost his job, is approached to write her story and help find her son, but initially refuses as he's not a fan of human interest stories.  Obviously he comes around though, otherwise the book he wrote about it wouldn't exist.  Martin and Philomena track down leads, and hit several dead ends, but always manage to find a clue that allows them to continue the search.

The longer they are together, the more Martin becomes invested in her story, and by the end it sometimes feels like it's as much his story as it is hers.  In fact when it comes to the wrongs done to Philomena, Martin is more disgusted and angry about them than she is.  I've always enjoyed characters that have that transformation from casual disinterest interest to very passionate.  Writing this story is just a job for Martin as he begins.  His generally cynical nature was something I identified with, and I really enjoyed Steve Coogan in the role.  On another note, you should hear his Michael Caine impression.  It's really great.

Philomena is an interesting contrast to Martin as she's one of those people that somehow sees the best in everything, and has an overly forgiving nature, even when it would be totally acceptable if she didn't want to forgive.  Many times she appears as someone that's never been more than a few miles from her home, and has an almost childlike fascination with anything new to her.  She's also extremely naive to the point where maybe she was portrayed a little too daft.  Judi Dench is sweet though and it was nice change of pace to see her do something different compared to the more serious performances were used to seeing from her.

It's interesting they didn't change the names, as it makes certain organizations look very bad, if not downright evil.  I have to wonder if the film simplifies the events in the book, as otherwise there would seem to be an amazing string of coincidences throughout.  It comes together a little too tidy at times.  I also found it a little melodramatic in parts (I really hate using that word), as well.  For example, they are able to track down a friend of Philomena's son, who refuses to take their calls and sends them away when they are at his door, but you'll find there didn't seem to be a real reason for him to be that way.  Maybe this makes more sense in the book, but in the movie it felt like they forced some additional conflict for dramatic purposes.

Director Stephen Frears does a good job of balancing the more serious dramatic elements of the story while keeping it grounded and relatable.  The story moves at a good pace while keeping a lot of detail and character moments in there.  I'm betting that much of the dry humor came from Steve Coogan's work on the screenplay, co-written with Jeff Pope.

I'm trying not to give too much away, but it doesn't quite turn out like you think it's going to.  Its bittersweet conclusion manages to be satisfying though.  I also couldn't shake the feeling that I just watched a buddy cop film, considering the odd pairing of Philomena and Martin.

Philomena is a heartfelt, humorous and interesting true life story that's bolstered by the great chemistry between Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.  I think the Oscar talk is a little premature, but it is worth watching for their performances.  I thought it was a nice change of pace from most of the films out in theaters now.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Ruby Sparks (2012) - Movie Review

How much easier would dating be if you could just dream your ideal woman/man into existence?

When we first see Calvin (Paul Dano) wake up in his very nice, Los Angeles pad, I was worried that this was going to be yet another movie where someone is somehow living in an expensive place well beyond their means.  This has always been a huge pet peeve of mine in movies. That's actually not the case here, as we learn that Calvin is an author that had the fortune of writing a very successful novel at a young age.

Calvin lives alone, and recently had a bad break-up.  His only real friend is his brother, and he went as far to get a dog to help him socialize.  This hasn't helped though, as his dog is scared of strangers.  His therapist (Elliott Gould), trying to help him through a bad case of writers block, gives him a simple writing assignment.  Calvin's been having a recurring dream about a mystery woman, so he begins to write about her.  Newly inspired, he flushes this character out to the point where she feels real and starts to fall in love with her.

One day, he wakes to find this girl, Ruby Sparks, in his kitchen having breakfast.  The movie never explains how or why, other than basically explaining away it away as magic.  They don't really fixate on this though, and the movie just asks you to go with it.  Calvin initially thinks he's going insane and Ruby is a product of his imagination, but he quickly realizes that she's real and is exactly how he's written her.

Writer Zoe Kazan, who also plays the title character, took a pretty interesting concept and played around with it.  She took the indie movie trope of the quirky, dream girl and put her in a normal relationship.  Things are great until you realize that Calvin really isn't all that great of a boyfriend. He's possessive, socially awkward and not very outgoing.  Ruby starts to get bored and attempts to make her own friends and do things on her own.  Unable to deal with this, Calvin tries to change Ruby.  At this point, the movie takes a turn for the dark and a little creepy.  You genuinely feel bad for Ruby the more Calvin interferes.

The film gets a nice boost from all of the supporting characters.  Calvin's brother, Harry, played by Chris Messina, has a lot of fun being the only other person that's aware of Ruby's true origins. There's another great part of the movie where they all go visit Calvin's mother (Annette Bening) and her current boyfriend (Antonio Banderas).  They are all just having fun enjoying life, except for Calvin, who does nothing but read and seem embarrassed by his family.  It's really hard to like Calvin at this point.  Steve Coogan has a small role and I always enjoy seeing him.

Paul Dano is an actor I've never quite been able to get into.  I just don't see what it is about him. However, I think this was a role tailor made for him and he did a good job with the rule.  I also came away really liking Zoe Kazan's performance.  Her script forces her to be all over the place as her character changes, and she showed a lot of range.  While not 'conventionally beautiful', she has a special quality about her, and it's hard to take your eyes off her anytime she's on screen.

One of the cool things about Ruby Sparks is there are a lot of different ways you can look at this movie.  It's very smart in that regard.  For me, the movie was as much about how flawed Calvin is and his idea of an ideal girl, as it is about Ruby.  Nobody is perfect, not your current girlfriend, and not your ex, even when she's "Baby Jessica" from True Blood (Deborah Ann Woll).  Trying to forcibly change them never has good results.

After a six-year hiatus from directing Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are back to direct Ruby Sparks.  I'm not sure why they took so much time off from directing, but I hope they continue to make films.  This is someone from someone that is in the small minority of people really didn't like Little Miss Sunshine.

My biggest problem with the movie is that it leads up to an ending, which while cute, didn't feel earned and I think it undermined the film a bit.  I would have preferred an ending that was a little more in line with the rest of the film's tone.

I really enjoyed Ruby Sparks.  It's one of those movies that kind of sticks with you, and I'm still thinking about it days after.  This is one of the smarter, and despite the magic element, more realasitc looks at romance and relationships that you're going to see this year.  Sure, it can be a little dark at times, but it's still something you can have fun with.  As this is in limited release, most of you likely won't have a change to see this in the theater, unless you have access to a place like The Vine.  It's worth a matinee, but I highly recommend renting this otherwise.

4 (out of 5) Death Stars