Review of Woman in Gold (2015) by Gabriel M — 19 Aug 2015

"Helen Mirren may still be a talented golden girl but "Woman in Gold" isn't rich enough for the Oscars".

DVD Movie Review: Woman in Gold.

Date Viewed: July 7 2015.

Directed By Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn).

Written By Alexi Kaye Campbell.

Starring: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Katie Holmes, Daniel Bruhl, Tatiana Maslany, Charles Dance, Jonathan Pryce, Max Irons, Frances Fisher and Elizabeth McGovern.

"Woman in Gold" is a predictable docudrama that goes for the easy way out. Sure, Helen Mirren may still be a golden girl but his young co-star Ryan Reynolds is like a teenager who needs tutoring for his math class. "Woman in Gold" is about an elderly Jewish woman who wants to retrieve her family possessions which were seized by the Nazis sixty years ago. It's a good subject for a feature film but director Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) and screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell have turned "Woman in Gold" into a safe legal drama with nothing truly at stake.

Based on a true story, the woman in gold is Maria Altmann (Mirren), she fled from Vienna, Austria sixty years ago and during her sister's funeral, she discovers letters in her possession. The letters reveal an attempt to recover family artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II. One of the missing artworks is a painting of Altmann's aunt and it is now known as "The Woman in Gold". Now living in Los Angeles, Altmann hires a young lawyer named Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds).

Randol has little experience and also happens to live next door to Altmann. He has a beautiful young wife played by Katie Holmes and they're expecting a second child. I adore Mrs. Holmes but is she going to play the nice, innocent-bystander role for the rest of her life. Randol and Maria have a testy but respectful relationship during this high profile case and as usual with all courtroom movies, for every victory, there's always going to be a setback.

Ryan Reynolds is a good actor but the rookie lawyer role has been done before. Matt Damon played his part better in the John Grisham adaptation "The Rainmaker". As I mentioned before, the lawyer has little experience in the courtroom, Hey! Reynolds and his character have something in common! Reynolds had little experience in acting when he starred in awful movies like "Van Wilder", "Just Friends", "Waiting..." and "Blade: Trinity". This material could've been handled better by a different director or a different screenplay but as it is, "Woman in Gold" is just a boring piece of history. It's so standard and completely predictable.