Woman in Gold

Woman in Gold is based on the true story of Maria Altmann, an elderly Jewish refugee whose suit against the government of Austria went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The film traces Altmann’s quest to reclaim a painting of her aunt, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt, which was confiscated by the Nazis before WWII and then became one of Vienna’s most iconic artworks after the war. It is a compelling story but not an especially captivating movie. The always-sublime Helen Mirren plays Altmann. Unfortunately, as is so often the case in Hollywood films, Maria is not the main character in her own narrative. Woman in Gold‘s protagonist is the young lawyer who takes on Maria’s case, Randy Schoenberg. Randy is played by the not-always-sublime Ryan Reynolds (The Change-Up, Green Lantern, Definitely, Maybe).

I was much more forgiving of American cinema’s need to tell all stories from the perspective of a young, white, good-looking male character back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, when this well established formula was a little bit less of a cliché. These days it’s a supreme cop-out to choose the simplistic, screenwriting-by-numbers, maturation plot template in which the primary emotional arc belongs to the talented but inexperienced lawyer who gains wisdom as a result of his connection with the older woman’s struggle. I feel bad knocking an intelligent, mid-budget drama aimed at older audiences because this is exactly the type of picture I wish were made more often. Twenty to thirty years ago, dozens of movies like this were made every year. It was hit-or-miss, but the odds of getting a good story well told were higher. Of course, a more dynamic actor than Reynolds could perhaps have found additional layers to the lawyer role—in the ‘90s Tom Cruise or Matt Damon might have played this part (in the ‘80s it might have even been aged up for Paul Newman or Gene Hackman).

Director Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) shoots the film with elegance—the scenes in Vienna are especially eye-catching—however there’s no way to describe this picture as anything other than a missed opportunity. The fault ultimately lies in the way this true story is adapted by playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell. Woman in Gold is Campbell’s first screenplay, and it feels like it. As new characters enter the movie, like the Austrian investigative journalist Hubertus Czernin, we incorrectly assume they will introduce an intriguing new aspect to the narrative, or an unexpected fresh layer of subtext. We are sadly disappointed.  Czernin (played by the usually magnetic Daniel Brühl) only exists to explain the mechanics and developments of the legal proceedings to the audience. Other than that, he serves no real function. More unforgivable is the stock character of Schoenberg’s pretty, dutiful wife, played by Katie Holmes. She exists only to support her husband unconditionally and give him banal little pep talks during his occasional moments of self-doubt. Why even include the wife in the film if you’re going to write her so two-dimensionally? Why not devote more screen time to Helen Mirren? After all, she’s the reason people will come to this movie.