Philomena

A film with moments of comedy, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan, 'Alpha Papa' was released in 2013. But lo, I jest. 'Philomena' is perhaps a turning point in Coogan's career, having spent much of his time on the silver screen in self-admittedly poor films popping up alongside snorty-snorty friends in bit-part roles in Hollywood crap. While comedy is indeed an element in the film, 'Philomena' is potentially the start of a maturing for Coogan, as he moves towards making the films he'd probably like to make, rather than end up in.

'Based on true events', lead, Judi Dench, plays Philomena, an elderly Irish woman living in London who, on the day that would be his fiftieth birthday, wants to locate her son, taken from her and adopted while she was in a convent in her teenage years. Having no luck herself, a chance encounter with journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan) leads him to help her in her search; his career having taken a backward step.

As with any one-on-one film, the pair are opposites: Philomena a devout Catholic, believing in the good in people; Martin a cynical atheist, with little belief in anything. Seeing the story as a possible career boost, he uses his contacts to fund the search and publish the story, inevitably learning more about life than a simple 'human interest' story.

For Dench, it was probably always inevitable that the reviews would be strong and the award nominations would follow. Though for Coogan, the reception was a little less obvious, writing and acting in a much more serious role. In terms of acting, despite the odd slightly cringe-worthy moment, he does a good job playing a job role he so loathes, while the writing - alongside Jeff Pope - is strong, finding a good balance between sentimentality and comedy in adapting Sixsmith's book.

'Philomena' will add another strong performance to Dench's long list of roles, while 2013 has been a big year in terms of Coogan's career, possibly putting Partridge to bed with a film and moving into more serious acting roles in 'The Look of Love' and now 'Philomena' and it will be interesting to see which direction it moves next, though it seems clear he would like more critical acclaim than laughs from now. That said, intentional or not, one comes away feeling more entertained than heartbroken by the film's conclusion. 

The Look of Love

With the recent release of the UK’s rich list in The Sunday Times, the timing of the release of Michael Winterbottom’s biopic of Paul Raymond, one of Britain’s very own millionaires, seems appropriate. With a cast reading like a UK comedy rich list, led by ‘the man who thinks he’s it’, Steve Coogan, a film about one of Britain’s most famed smut peddlers has the potential to go any number of ways.

Charting his rise from lowly entertainer to Britain’s richest man, the focus of much of the plot is on his relationships with the most important women in his life: his wife, Jean Raymond (Anna Friel), his lover Fiona Richmond (Tamsin Egerton) and, most importantly, his daughter, Debbie (Imogen Poots). While riding the wave of success his money brings, gradually, each of these relationships breaks down as he fails to leave the clubs, magazines and women behind and form a normal life.

Starting in black and white, in what seems like a slow-paced montage, WInterbottom adds colour to the screen as the Soho nightlife begins and the female clothing ends. The film then dives into a world of sex and drugs and every hole’s a goal, as the money builds and Raymond’s fancies change.

While the main plot focus is on Raymond’s relationships, these are often interspersed with scenes from his various nude shows or photo shoots for magazines that leave little to the imagination. These could, perhaps, have been toned down a little, or even left out, but being that this is a Michael Winterbottom film, there is a sense of trying to push boundaries, though this lacks the ambitious nature of ‘A Cock and Bull Story’ of the ground-breaking release of ‘9 Songs’.

The juxtaposition of music gigs and full sex scenes in ‘9 Songs’; the dialogue between Coogan and Rob Brydon and English countryside in ‘The Trip’ manifest here as love and lust in Raymond’s life, with his love of the women in his life sabotaged by his lust for looking at beautiful women naked and results in a decent little film, but never pushing too far beyond that. More could have been done to add humour into the script or put more into his troubled relationships, rather than filling time with scenes that result from the BBFC’s more relaxed governing – a situation Winterbottom helped create.

The performances here are good, though you do want Coogan to let out an ‘ah-ha’ every now and then, showing he is yet to fully shake the monkey off his back. Imogen Poots is convincing enough in making you believe she’s the annoying result of a slightly warped upbringing; and Chris Addison shows he is perhaps more method actor than stand-up comedian. Though Dara O’Briain will never pull-off an 80s Alexei Sayle.

British films featuring a cast of comedians with a slightly raunchy theme come from a long line in tradition of being neither sexy nor funny. ‘The Look of Love’ does not follow a similar path, though perhaps here, much like with Raymond himself, lust slightly overpowers love, leaving neither fully satisfied.