‘Woman in Gold’
Grade: A
Instead of rushing to theaters to see “Furious Seven,” people should have been rushing to see “Woman in Gold.”
This film moved faster than the cars could race.
My adrenaline was pumping the entire time scenes of Austria during the 1920s and the Nazi occupation intertwined flawlessly and beautifully with portrayals of modern-day life.
“Woman in Gold” is the tale of an Austrian-Jewish woman, Maria Altmann, played by Helen Mirren.
When the Nazis invaded Austria, they stole a famous Gustav Klimt painting of her beloved aunt. The painting is now in the possession of the Austrian government and is commonly called the Mona Lisa of Austria. But now, Maria wants it back.
Maria hires washed-up lawyer Randol Schoenberg, played by Ryan Reynolds. Randy handles the case from when it is just a petition to the Austrian Arts Restoration committee, through its Supreme Court case and until restitution has actually occurred.
This isn’t a film about an old woman holding onto the past. It’s about finally getting closure.
The core of this film is the characters and their plights. Mirren’s character desperately wants to reclaim the Klimt painting of her aunt. She believes it will fill the void of losing her family and her life to the Nazis. But she is continuously let down by the government who took it from her.
Maria was haunted by how the Nazis were welcomed to her country with smiling faces and open arms, and that leads to the scene that brought the rawness of the film to the surface.
Maria, feeling defeated, announced the Austrians would never give up the painting because then they would have to admit they were not the victims of the Nazis.
The viewer quickly learns of the hostility remaining in Austria directed at Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. The historical context of this film never stops surpising.
Maria must confront her demons after leaving Austria for a better life in America in order to move the film forward, reminding us humans grow and learn throughout their entire lives.
The unlikely duo of Reynolds and Mirren seemed not so unlikely throughout the film. The contrasting actors create a complex couple that rely on one another’s strengths and weaknesses to create a powerful portrait of complete strength.
If you want to see a compelling movie that touches on the human conditions we can all identify with, see “Woman in Gold.” It fills that empty void so many other films on the market leave.
The story of passion, family, revenge and retribution is only part of “Woman in Gold.” The flawless, intense acting of Mirren is the other.
