Worth its weight

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2016)

Some films that bring home the effects of the Holocaust don't necessarily feature the concentration camps or the mass executions. This film gives us another aspect in a subtle but telling way.
It is based on the true story of Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish woman living in the US, and a struggling young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), who together fought legal battles with the Austrian government to reclaim the painting of her aunt, the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt, The painting, which by this time was considered Austria's Mona Lisa, was stolen from Maria's family by the Nazis just before WWII.
The film is told in a straightforward manner with a number of flashbacks. I remember the story being featured in the documentary: "The Rape of Europe", which turns up occasionally on the History Channel. In simple scenes "Woman in Gold" conveys the shocking way the Nazis stole the treasures of Jewish families, many of whom were patrons of the arts.
One thing the film does is highlight how beautiful Klimt's painting is. Klimt is shown applying gold leaf in one brief scene – the film whets the appetite to know more about it.
Antje Traue was the perfect choice to play Adele Bloch-Bauer, she is very much like the subject of the painting. Tatiana Maslany plays the young Maria Altmann in the flashbacks. For those of us who have seen Helen Mirren's films from the time she started out until now, and remember how vibrant and arresting she has always been, it seems odd that another actress now plays a younger version of her, however they both look a bit like Queen Elizabeth.
The Score by Martin Phipps and Hans Zimmer also features some of the music of Arnold Schoenberg (Randy Schoenberg's grandfather).
The film does not overstay its welcome. Although much of the struggle to retrieve the painting involved complex litigation over a long period, the film covers all the main points without bogging down.
This is an understated film that tells a fascinating story. Although critics seem divided, I can't see why it would disappoint anyone.