This film is part of Rentals

Philomena
Judi Dench and Steve Coogan star in the deeply moving yet warm-hearted drama about a woman’s search for her forcibly adopted son.
Director: Stephen Frears
Overview
Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are the unlikely double-act in Stephen Frears’ Bafta-winning drama, which tackles the painful issue of enforced adoption within the Catholic Church with warmth and humanity.
Coogan plays journalist Martin Sixsmith, who becomes intrigued by the story of Philomena Lee (Dench), who as a pregnant teenager in Ireland was shipped off to a convent where nuns forcibly adopted her child. Profoundly affected by her story, Sixsmith convinces her to challenge the convent for answers, leading a trail to America where they uncover the extraordinary story of her long-lost son. British cinema’s dextrous and deft-handed veteran Stephen Frears steers the tone perfectly between light humour and devastating drama, corralling an impressive straight-role from the usually comic Coogan along with a performance of remarkable dignity from Judi Dench. The result is a film that astonishes for its quiet power; shining a light on a disturbing, forgotten history while leaving viewers optimistic and enlightened.
Related

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.

Misericordia Misericordia
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Alain Guiraudie
French provocateur Alain Guiraudie's rural homecoming story mixing passion, crime, mushrooms and bedroom farce to dizzily involving effect.

The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.

Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.

Seven Green Bottles Seven Green Bottles
Documentary 1975 34 mins Director: Eric Marquis
Warning film about seven young delinquents, played by non-professional actors, who commit a series of offences, increasing in severity.

London in the Raw London in the Raw
Documentary 1964 47 mins Director: Arnold Louis Miller
Low-budget movie mogul Arnold Louis Miller concocted this exploitation-style documentary which peers behind the grimy net curtains of British life.

Apocalypse Now Apocalypse Now
War 1979 141 mins Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Transplanting Joseph Conrad’s colonial-era novel Heart of Darkness to Vietnam, Coppola created a mesmerising fantasia on the spectacle of war.

You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here
Thriller 2017 90 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.

The Bookshop The Bookshop
Drama 2017 113 mins Director: Isabel Coixet
Words run riot when a free-spirited bookseller (Emily Mortimer) introduces a sleepy town to a host of provocative literature

Yardie Yardie
Crime 2018 102 mins Director: Idris Elba
In his thrilling directorial debut, Idris Elba brings to life Victor Headley’s cult crime novel.

Allelujah Allelujah
Drama 2022 103 mins Director: Richard Eyre
A warm, humorous, and deeply moving story about surviving old age, featuring a powerhouse British cast led by Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous).

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Stan & Ollie Stan & Ollie
Biopic 2019 98 mins Director: Jon S. Baird
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly give delightfully bang-on-target performances as comedy’s most famous double act as they enter their twilight years.

The Lost King The Lost King
Drama 2022 108 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears and Steve Coogan (Philomena) reunite for this uplifting underdog story about a Richard III enthusiast (Sally Hawkins) who made global headlines when she dug up what became the most notorious car park in the world.

Mindhorn Mindhorn
Comedy 2017 88 mins Director: Sean Foley
Julian Barratt is hilarious as the washed-up actor forced to reprise his 80s TV role as a sleuth with a robotic truth-telling eye, to help catch a deranged killer.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Comedy 2013 90 mins Director: Declan Lowney
It’s Alan’s finest hour, as the veteran DJ for North Norfolk Digital (Steve Coogan) is called into action to mediate a hostage situation following a siege.

Tamara Drewe Tamara Drewe
Comedy 2010 111 mins Director: Stephen Frears
The return of beautiful journalist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) awakens destructive passions in a Dorset village.

The Lost King The Lost King
Drama 2022 108 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears and Steve Coogan (Philomena) reunite for this uplifting underdog story about a Richard III enthusiast (Sally Hawkins) who made global headlines when she dug up what became the most notorious car park in the world.

Walter and June Walter and June
Drama 1983 65 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen and Stephen Frears reunite for the sequel to their TV play Walter. The titular character (McKellen) meets a young mother (Sarah Miles) who is suicidally depressed; the two support one another to cope with life in a closed institution.

Walter Walter
Drama 1982 73 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen stars in Stephen Frears' TV play as Walter, a man with learning difficulties who's put in an institution after the death of his mother.

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins
Biopic 2016 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Meryl Streep plays the wealthy socialite determined to make it as an opera singer despite being tone deaf, in a delightful comedy from Stephen Frears.

The Program The Program
Biopic 2015 103 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ben Foster is Lance Armstrong in this kinetic account of the cyclist who fell from grace, from acclaimed director Stephen Frears.

A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.

Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.