It's a great thing for movie goers that Judi Dench has become a genuine box office star in her sunset years - for she helped power this character drama to much critical acclaim and healthy public response. It doesn't hurt that Steve Coogan is in it as well, but surely Dench is the X factor.
It's ironic then that Dame Judi is miscast - or I felt, anyway. She gives off far too much gravitas, English sensibleness and intelligence to play a simple minded naive Irish nurse who decides to look for the child she was forced to give up for adoption over fifty years ago. Judi has a go at the accent, gives it her all, has charisma and so on... but she didn't work for me.
It's a film aimed at old people - a lot of the dialogue is repeated and the concerns are for age: the regrets of youth, the delight in shocking the younger generation, a desire to make amends. The Madgelene Sisters make ideal villains, Coogan offers a solid contrast for Judi (though he doesn't really have much of a character to play). I was confused by the opposition to their search provided by the son's sister and former lover - wouldn't they be interested in seeing them reunited?
There is some pretty scenery of Ireland, laughable product placement for hotels, over the top obvious Washington landmark porn, some genuinely sweet scenes (like when Judi recites the plot of one of her dreary novels to Coogan). Take your grandma, she'll love it.
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