To start, I didn't even know how to pronounce the title of this movie. It's a two-man show (okay, a two person show) with this unconventional pairing of a former government employee and journalist looking for something to do and finding the story of an old woman who has been trying to find her son for 50 years.
We see the movie through the viewpoint of Steve Coogan, who plays the aforementioned former journalist. He was "resigned" after an email was incorrectly attributed to him, and he finds himself bitter and disillusioned when thinking about re-entering the job market. His cynical view of the world is challenged by his experiences in this movie, and the reality of other people's feelings, hopes, and dreams is impressed upon him as more important than he had previously thought. Steve does a great job with this mostly serious role while managing to make me laugh out loud a few times.
Dame Judi Dench plays an old Irish lady. Her story is horrific, while she takes it in stride. She got pregnant at a young age, was sent to a convent, had her baby taken away from her, and was required to work at the convent to repay the effort and money that the nuns had given in order to assist with the delivery and care of the infant. She has a quirky personality that is occasionally easy to confuse with senility. However, she has a sharpness of mind that surfaces unexpectedly on many occasions. Her emotions are very real and very near the surface as is demonstrated when she starts asking questions to the first person who may have come into some casual contact with her son - the first real break (she feels) that she's had in getting to him.
The movie is even more interesting because it's a true story. The friendship that blossoms between the two main characters really seems unlikely at first, and the process of looking for her son has them both hitting highs and lows (not always for the same reasons) that they can lean on each other to make it through.
The story is enthralling
Dialog is unexpectedly good
Acting is great
Direction is great
The rarest of scores from me:
5.0/5