Visually stunning, but overplays emotional aspects at expense of other elements

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2015)

"Woman in Gold" is visually stunning and brilliantly performed. It is much better than suggested by its trailer. Production values are superb. However, it is still a bit disappointing.
At one point in "Woman in Gold," an Austrian citizen confronts Mirren's Altmann character and asks why you (Jewish) people can't forget the past, commenting, "Not everything is about the Holocaust." The comment is cynical, as the Austrian people personified by the character oppose Altmann because they want to celebrate and admire a painting stolen from her family that became part of Austrian heritage in the minds of many. As it relates to Maria Altmann, the statement is cruel, insensitive and unfair; however, one might direct a similar comment to the producers of the film.
It is a story with many facets. Her husband Fritz was imprisoned at Dachau to compel his brother to transfer a business to the Nazis. There is quite a story behind the sweater that Altmann is seen folding at her shop. Obviously, the filmmakers had to make choices as to what to include. They chose to put a lot of emphasis on the theme of rediscovering one's heritage. The Austrians consider the disputed paintings part of their national heritage. Altmann turned her back on Austria and swore never to return. Schoenberg gets in touch with his Jewish and Austrian heritage. Much of this story is told in flashbacks to the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. It's beautifully photographed and superb filmmaking, but we've seen it all before in "Schindler's List," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Life is Beautiful" and dozens of other films.
By devoting what seems like half the running time to historical scenes, the filmmakers tell one story effectively, but ignore unique aspects of the current story. I would have liked to see more of Shoenberg's story. I'd like to have seen him fail at his own firm and know what he did at Bergen Brown Sherman – what did he sacrifice to represent Altmann? What happened to the necklace and other things stolen from the Bloch-Bauers? The legal battle raised several intriguing issues, but the court scenes presented primarily emotional appeals to justice and equity, not legal arguments. If Lauder was willing to underwrite the cost of the legal battle and interested enough in the painting to pay a record $135MM at auction, why did he abandon negotiations with Altmann so easily?
The historical scenes were well done, but they crowded out other material that might have been more interesting.
Although the two central Jewish characters were both played by gentiles, the film has a very pro-Semitic slant that was distracting at times. The Jewish characters are intelligent, astute, cultured, multi-lingual, industrious, talented, successful, devoted to their families, patient, clever, world renown, etc., etc., etc. The Austrian gentiles are generally spiteful, anti-Semitic, duplicitous, uncultured, bureaucratic, unsympathetic, boorish Nazi sympathizers and unscrupulous thieves.