Enjoyable good film about a serious subject but with many faults.

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2015)

Woman In Gold - what a great tale from which to make a film. It would be hard to go wrong wouldn't it. And, they did it well. The result is a crowd-pleaser and although it has it's faults, overall you have to say that it is an enjoyable film. I'm not going to talk about the story because it is well known and most of the other reviewers have dwelt upon that. The film does the story well. So instead, I'm going to dwell on the issues that have separated this overall enjoyable film from what it might have been - a great film.
The choice of Mirren in the lead role. She is a reasonable actor but you cannot see her without seeing the Queen! She always looks like Helen Mirren made up to look like the person she is playing rather than being able to "be" that person. This adds a layer of shallowness immediately.
The choice of lightweight Ryan Reynolds as the lawyer is a mystery. He only adds to the shallowness. There are so many great actors working as waiters in restaurants yet we have to put up with this lightweight. Why for goodness sake? Perhaps he is popular in the US. The name Weinstein in the production credits says everything (and means it will probably get an Oscar).
Of the three lead actors, Daniel Brühl shines above Reynolds and Mirren and gives some much-needed weight. A different league.
The real star is the picture itself - Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt - 1907. Stunning and imprinted on the mind of all who have seen it and well photographed in this film.
The use of Ross Emery as DP was another odd choice as his career is based around car-chase films and films like Wolverine and The Matrix. It showed. Oh how Dick Pope or any number of other good DPs could have improved on the visuals.
As with so many films made for the US market, you constantly felt that your emotions were being toyed with. Little set pieces with false jeopardy, everyone applauding when the goodies win. Pass me the sick-bag someone. And a glossy sheen painted over everything and all ends happily ever after. A bit like eating sugar-coated chocolates - superficially satisfying but very soon sickening. Still, that's how our US cousins seem to like it.
Despite all these criticisms, I really enjoyed this film in a sugary way. Full marks must go BBC Films who on a small budget have a knack of picking the right films to be involved with.
I guess it will be on TV in a while and it will not loose much from being in a smaller screen.