How Does Stephen Fears Use Film Techniques In Philomena

Each person, ordinary or extraordinary, has a story to tell. Through the course of our lives, we become characters in others’ stories and others become characters in our own. Whether they play a leading role or not, the moment two tales meet is a moment that is destined to make changes to both lives. In the movie Philomena by Stephen Frears, the moment that Martin Sixsmith and Philomena Lee’s tales converge is captured. Martin Sixsmith is portrayed as a relatable character, therefore his development is used to enhance the theme of storytelling while making the film impactful to the audience.

The character-driven journey of the film is staged with Philomena’s past and Martin’s present. Straight away, film techniques are used to hint Martin’s

Taking matters into his own hands, Martin confronts Sister Hildegard about her actions. As the atmosphere in the rooms intensifies, Philomena tells Martin, “It happened to me, not you”. Within this scene, over-the-shoulder shots are used to establish their points of view. While shot/ reverse shots are used to show the audience the contrasting opinions of Philomena and Martin. The piece of dialogue within the scene, “I’m angry”, said by Martin allows the audience to finally realize Martin is invested in the story. Although Martin’s actions crossed the line, the audience is able to see that Martin finally has grasped onto the art of storytelling. Until this point in the film, Martin was absorbed on spinning Philomena’s story to make it as appealing as possible, “story wise…of course”. The audience is able to see that Martin is now emotionally attached to the story as if it were his own. At this point in the film, Martin decides not to publish the story however Philomena decides she would like it to be published. The sudden reversal allows the audience to realize Martin is now worthy to communicate the story to the readers. He is able to publish the story in a way that isn’t manipulative or fake but conveys genuine feelings. Martin’s character development allows the audience to see that great storytellers must come to understand the stories before being able to successfully deliver it to an