Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) and her inexperienced lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) sue the Austrian government for illegally possessing paintings belonging to her family.
Stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War, among the collection are priceless works by Gustav Klimt, including Woman in Gold.
Based on a true story, we say “Woman in Gold is nearly perfect.”
TAYLOR: Maria Altmann, if the movie is to be believed, was a tough, outspoken woman who despite her rights and proclivities, would rather not step into the limelight to discuss old wounds. She is a complicated human being. Helen Mirren plays her perfectly. However, she’s also surrounded by a fine, deep cast.
Ryan Reynolds, although as guilty as everyone in this film for laying it on a little thick occasionally, is at his most believable. Katie Holmes, as his wife, has a tiny part, three-to-five minutes, but is strong. Daniel Bruhl is awesome as per usual. If someone is speaking in this movie, you’ve seen them before: Elizabeth McGovern, Antje Traue, Charles Dance, the list goes on.
HOWE: I thought this movie was fantastic. It has been a good few months since I have seen something decent on the big screen and Woman in Gold proves that you don’t need to throw millions into a movie to make it special.
It reminds me of a film from a couple of years ago, Philomena with Dame Judi Dench, not the story itself but the way the film unfolds. It is a very bleak, dark story but dotted with little one-liners to put a smile on your face and the acting is top-notch.
Mirren is as classy as always, but it was Reynolds that I was most impressed with. He has come a long way since his role in the turkey Green Lantern.
TAYLOR: The film dwells a bit, sort of obviously deliberate. There’s a great deal of talent. It’s an emotional topic with built-in tension. When you have beautiful Vienna and a good soundtrack you don’t need to stare at Reynolds’ wet eyes. Setting a serious tone is one thing, but Woman in Gold tries a little too hard at points. I feel this is a result of trying to make a dark film light, with quite a bit of humour while still hanging on to the tragedy and heartstrings that are eminently pluckable.
So when we flashback to Altmann’s darker memories, we must go from light to dark quickly. I don’t blame the filmmakers for seeking balance, it just isn’t very smooth. I’ll dock a mere half point for that, because it truly is a very good film, with excellent performances.
HOWE: Director Simon Curtis brought us My Week with Marilyn, which was a great film a few years back, but to me this is a far superior film. Woman in Gold had the emotions running through me: happy, sad, smiling and tearing up. It’s everything I want from a film, for that I cannot dock points.
Taylor gives Woman in Gold 4.5 palette knives out of 5.
Howe gives it 5 cellos out of 5.
– Brian Taylor and Peter Howe are film reviewers based in Vernon, B.C. Their column, Reel Reviews, appears in The Morning Star every Friday and Sunday.
