Excellent and intelligent film

Rating: 8/10 (30 March 2015)

Brilliant thinking person's film about the trials and tribulations regarding the return of a painting stolen during the second world war. The film is based on a true story and is full of courtroom dramatics. Austria provides a beautiful background for such a horrible display of the treatment of the Jewish people in Vienna. There are no car chases and nothing blows up but there is very well done intelligent writing. The cast is very well done. Helen Mirren is wonderful, complex, fun and emotionally connected. Ryan Reynolds does very well as the novice lawyer. I very much enjoyed the work of the supporting cast with good support work of Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth McGovern and Katie Holmes. I was wondering on the timing of this movie. While the film and performances are very good, its release in early April to me means that the film is a bit of a throw away for the studio. Too bad, there is some quality stuff here.