Philomena

Synopsis

In the 1950s, young desperate mother Philomena was shut up in an Irish convent when nuns sold her three year-old child for adoption in the US. Throughout her life, she dreamed of being reunited with her son, but could not trace him. Enter Martin Sixsmith, a former BBC reporter played by Steve Coogan, who decides against his better judgment to use his contacts and journalistic nose to help Philomena in her search. Based on a true story, the film — with moving emotion but many comic moments — exposes the bigotry and hypocrisy of past generations, while showing the challenges faced by pregnant teenage women lacking adequate support.