{"id":1279,"date":"2017-09-06T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/2017\/09\/woman-in-gold\/"},"modified":"2018-06-30T09:55:31","modified_gmt":"2018-06-30T13:55:31","slug":"woman-in-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2017\/09\/woman-in-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman in Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

2015, UK, USA, 109 min.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Woman in Gold<\/em> is an unabashed crowd pleaser. Like 2013\u2019s Philomena<\/em>, Woman in Gold<\/em> is based on a true story involving an older woman resolving her past. But we don\u2019t mind the similarity. The performances here are sturdy and winning; the emotions feel true. Woman in Gold<\/em> works to win our affections.<\/p>\n

The film starts in 1998. Octogenarian Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) has buried her sister, a fellow survivor of the Nazi occupation. What Maria is more concerned about is paperwork her sister left behind that chronicles her attempt to reclaim family paintings that were taken by the Nazis\u2014including Gustav Klimt\u2019s Woman in Gold, <\/em>featuring their aunt as the subject. All the artworks now reside in Austria\u2019s Belvedere Gallery.<\/p>\n

Maria wants them back. A friend recommends her son, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), a struggling attorney who takes the case to humor his mother and, later, to humor the persistent Maria. After discovering that Woman in Gold<\/em> is valued at more than $100 million, well, now he\u2019s interested. They head to Vienna to lobby for Maria\u2019s ownership. When Randy, the son of Austrian immigrants, visits the city\u2019s Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, his intentions change. He\u2019s in it for real, regardless of time and roadblocks thrown up by the Austrian government and the museum. The question is, does his client have the strength to keep fighting?<\/p>\n

Director Simon Curtis and screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell take a delicate approach to the inspirational, if predictable, fare. Campbell prioritizes what is important: a woman\u2019s battle to not have the past beat her. Rather than becoming a separate, ponderous story line, the flashbacks here are seamless, giving us a taste of a younger Maria\u2019s life. The movie\u2019s priorities are straight, including letting Helen Mirren have at it.<\/p>\n

Mirren favors intense dignity instead of old-lady stereotypes. Maria will not let the past destroy her. She caved in once. She will not do it again. Curtis and Campbell give enough space for Mirren to act. Costar Reynolds drops the sarcastic, smoothie act that\u2019s unfortunately become his style. The movie-star glossiness is gone: the suits are off the rack, the hair isn\u2019t a result of a $100 cut. He allows us to see Randy for who he is\u2014a young man finding his moral footing. It\u2019s a quietly effective performance that complements Mirren\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Most important, perhaps, Curtis understands that, because the story is emotional, there\u2019s no need to press. He doesn\u2019t utilize a lot of fancy camerawork. He doesn\u2019t constantly remind us about the horrors of the Holocaust. The focus is on how one woman\u2019s life was forever left blank. It\u2019s illustrated simply, such as when Mirren (filmed in a long shot) shuffles into the courtroom, ready for one more battle, after we saw her silently sitting at her kitchen table. It\u2019s also the camera, looking up at Reynolds as he delivers his final statement, so we know he\u2019s turned the corner. Woman in Gold<\/em> delivers the answers in due time, instead of shouting them out immediately. It\u2019s greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Octogenarian Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) has buried her sister, a fellow survivor of the Nazi occupation. What Maria is more concerned about is paperwork her sister left behind.<\/p>\n

Read more Woman in Gold<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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