Philomena

I wasn't going to write about Philomena--it was an entertaining story and funny and moving; fairly anti-Catholic, but who really thinks that the Catholic Church has been flawless? Nothing spectacular.

In the film, Philomena, an elderly Irish woman played by Judy Dench, reveals a secret she's been keeping for 50 years: as a girl, she conceived a child out of wedlock, was disowned by her family, and lived with and worked for an order of nuns, where her child was taken from her and put up for adoption. Chance throws her together with disgraced journalist, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) who is looking for a book to write and takes up her story. In the process, they take a trip to America, where her son was sent and adopted.

And then Francisco sent me this review. I partially agree and partially disagree. I agree with Kyle Smith's (albeit a bit bombastic) attention to the other side of the issue--the problem isn't just with the nuns in the story, the problem is with entrenched societal treatment of women (including lack of vocational education), poverty, and the urge to pretend that sin doesn't happen by socially excluding those who commit it. He writes, sarcastically and hyperbolicly,

We all know how cruel it was for the mid-century Catholic Church to provide shelter for scorned women written off as dead by their families, help them give birth to their children and place the adoptees in loving homes. Today we’d be much more compassionate: We’d simply abort all those kids. Problem solved! 

Today’s Philomenas don’t have to wonder what happened to their babies. They’re out back, in the Dumpster. But better that than growing up to be a Republican.

In his initial review of the film, which is even more over-the-top (it's entitled, "'Philomena' another hateful and boring attack on Catholics"), he points to the good done by the nuns in the film (which the film itself certainly doesn't draw attention to):

The film doesn’t mention that in 1952 Ireland, both mother and child’s life would have been utterly ruined by an out-of-wedlock birth and that the nuns are actually giving both a chance at a fresh start that both indeed, in real life, enjoyed. 

However, I think that he misses an important move that the film does make. Martin Sixsmith is moved and changed by watching a saintly act of forgiveness. While he is still incensed by the nuns, he sees a Christ-like love in Philomena. There is a shot of Jesus and the Sacred Heart on the wall at the time of his recognition, and to apologize, he buys her a small statue of Jesus. He recognizes, and is moved by, her faith--the fact that despite the nuns mistreatment of her, she continues to pray and go to church and love her son. Kyle Smith doesn't see this move. He writes, instead, to Philomena:

Your forgiving the Church may make you a saint, but it does nothing to lessen the audience’s outrage.

I'm not sure that Kyle Smith realizes that you can both forgive someone and think that it would be beneficial to tell the story of grave injustice, in part to ensure that we don't go back and commit the same injustice again. Kyle Smith's idea seems to preclude critique of any institution, whereas Philomena's point seems to be that there is such thing as a loving critique.