Lots of Things Covered But Works Effectively

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2019)

"Woman in Gold" is a mixture of courtroom drama and a tale of Holocaust survival,but an intriguing journey of etching through the trenches of WWII and an odd couple seeking justice starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.
After the war ended, it was time for people to settle in and restore the heartbreak and injustices that took place in the six years that caused trauma, tragedy lost loved ones and to rebuild a new life for the citizens who survived and the next generation to come. Even though a lot has been forgiven, there is still events that will never be forgotten. Their anecdotes will exhibited in museums, taught in schools and read in books. And even in today's society, there are things that haven't been fully revived. To this day, families who been affected by the Holocaust are still in demand to restore things that have been lost and will never stop until justice is served. Many of these relics, artifacts and personal property have never been returned to their personal owners. Many of these treasures include paintings that were placed in museums and art galleries. While others are still in possession just waiting to be claimed. "Woman in Gold" is the true story of an elderly lady who wants to return the titular portrait back to her family, though it's no easy task since it's been stored in an Austrian museum.
Helen Mirren stars as Maria Altmann. a Jewish Holocaust survivor. She and her husband narrowly escape Nazi-occupied Austria, abandoning her parents while migrating to the United States. Her family were aficionados in the world of art. Her uncle sponsored paintings from Gustav Klimt who had a painting of his wife who died before the invasion commenced. The Nazis confiscated every precious belongings that her family owned, a lot of them were pretty expensive too.Her aunt's portrait is now resting at the Belvedere Museum where it is being dubbed as "The Lady in Gold". Several decades later, Maria wants to reclaim so her hires a friend's son who was a lawyer named Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to take it to court in order to win it back.
Though there are scenes told in flashbacks about the horrific events that took place in WWII and though there is a plethora of ground to be covered, it is still a courtroom drama. Many justices of the law were on hand during this trial and lots of documents had to be in order for them to win their case. And though several decades younger than Maria, Randy's heartbreaks come through the stories his grandparents endured while Maria saw Hitler's evil ways from an eye's view. Randy is joined by an Austrian journalist name Hubertus Czernin (Daniel Bruhl) who arbitrarily offers his service knowing full well about his family's bad legacy. The flashbacks reflect upon a young Maria through good times and bad ones and are used to great effect especially where her court battle marks her return to her country that she abandoned decades ago.
We can always depend on Mirren to deliver a great performance and her accent was spot on. The odd pairing she has with Reynolds seems natural more like a mother/son relationship over a lawyer/client relationship. Reynolds really played the lawyer like he was a professional lawyer. Tatiana Maslany shows her inner "Orphan Black" character as the younger Maria as she's on the run constantly. Her emotions were priceless. Sure a lot of material is covered in "Woman in Gold", but everything falls into place.