One of the more surprising standouts from the early Fall film festival circuit was the praise for Stephen Frears‘s Philomena as I just documented in today’s 2014 Oscar predictions update. Least surprising among that praise, however, was the love for Judi Dench as Philomena Lee in this “based on a true story” feature.
Lee is an Irish woman seeking the illegitimate son she was forced to put up for adoption in the U.S. in 1952 and Dench co-stars opposite Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist who helps Philomena on her way. The film was described early as “a bitter-sweet comedy” and early reviews seem to echo that sentiment and very much to the film’s favor rather than as something that may stand in the way of its Oscar chances as I previously speculated.
The Weinstein Co. has yet to set an official release date for the film, but you can watch this new clip below (via The Playlist) and I’ve also included the previously released trailer below that.
Leave your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned as I’ll have a review soon.
ALSO: Read today’s post Telluride and Venice Film Festival Oscar update right here.
