Helen Mirren Shines, Ryan Reynolds Flounces

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2016)

Woman in Gold tells the true story of Maria Altmann's quest, aided heavily by Randol Schoenberg, to retrieve a famed Gustav Klimt painting of her aunt, which was owned by her family before being stolen by the Nazis.
This is a movie that only works at all because of Helen Mirren. She is excellent, and telegraphs all the losses Maria faced in Austria during the Holocaust, and why this painting holds such deep meaning for her. A scene towards the end of the film where she returns to her old Austrian home, and walks through moments in her life as a way of making peace with the past is very moving. The best that can be said for Ryan Reynolds is that he tries, but he is miscast at best in the role of Schoenberg. He is wrong for this movie, and frankly, drags down scenes that are supposed to show his struggles as he tries to move Altmann's court case.
In all, I would say watch this movie for Mirren, and grit your teeth when watching Reynolds.