Though famous on the English stage, TV and in English movies it wasn't until Judi Dench
played M in the James Bond movies and received a supporting actress
Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth that America fell in love with her and hasn't stopped loving her, with her role in "Philomenia"  only solidifying that love.

We
first meet the young Philomenia (Sophie Kennedy Clark) losing her
virginity, never regretting it, only to become pregnant. Irish girls who
bore children out of wedlock, embarrassing their parents, were
generally sent away to Catholic church institutes  where the nuns kept
them in servitude until they paid off the 1,000 pounds until they paid
off their 'debt'. The last time she sees her son Anthony is when, at the
age of 3, he is being put in a car after being sold to an American
couple.

Fifty-three years later we met the grown up Philomena (Judy Dench) who has been a nurse for thrity
years, married, had a daughter and grandchildren but never forgot her
Anthony nor did she ever lose her faith in the church. Writer Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), who is a lapsed Catholic to the point of now being an atheist,
has recently lost his job. He is a man who likes to write about Russian
history couldn't care about writing a 'human interest' story which he
sneers at so you know he will be writing Philomena's story and will help
her find her child.

There are
many possible spoilers so to avoid them, and let you enjoy the twists
and turns, let's just say Philomena and Martin are complete opposites
and travel together to America to find her son. Along the way subjects
far and wide are touched upon from the church, to politics, to
homophobia, AIDS, the British class system, unforgiving nuns, romantic
fiction novels, sex, Jane Russell and even Philomena wanting to watch
"Big Mama's House" instead of going to see the Lincoln Memorial.

Written
by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on the true story written by
Martin Sixsmith in the book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee", they,
along with director Stephen Frears, avoids manpulating the audiende too
much. They provide some good laughs while not staying away from the
heavier topics.

Steve Coogan holds his own against Judi Dench
but you eyes don't leave her when she is on screen. She inhabits
Philomena to the point that we understand this woman's love, faith,
loss, pain and, most of all, her wisdom, with her facial expressions.
Sophie Kennedy Clark gets across Philomena's anguish, especially in the
scene where she sees her son taken away while Mare Winningham as a grown up woman who was adopted with Anthony and Anna Maxwell, Ruth McCabe along with Peter Hermann and Michelle Fairley all offer good support in what are almost cameo appearances. Barbara Jefford as Sister Hildagarde stands out.
There are beautiful scenes of Ireland, and Washington D. C., but this movie belongs to Judi Dench deservedly!