Woman in Gold

Los Angeles at the fag end of the twentieth century.  Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) is an elderly Jewish Austrian who had dramatically escaped from Vienna after the Germans moved in.  When her sister dies Maria finds amongst her papers some evidence that she might have a legal case to have the Gustav Klimt painting, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, restored to the ownership of her family.  The painting, a fantasy in gold leaf, is of her Aunt, was stolen by the Nazis, and was by then hanging in a major gallery in Vienna.

She asks the advice of the lawyer son of a friend and he, after much persuasion, agrees to take it on.  They go to Vienna, make little progress, and return empty handed.  After various stops and starts Maria decides she's had enough, but the lawyer, Randol Schoenberg, won't give and begins to treat is as his private obsession.  In the end, years later and after a series of US court actions, they will return to Vienna, justice is done and the portrait, and other paintings, are handed over to Maria.

Interwoven into this storyline are flashbacks showing the child Maria with her aunt, and the young woman Maria who had to make the dangerous break for freedom after the Anschluss brought Austria into the Third Reich.  The latter scenes are the best of the film, with a strong sense of period, and genuine tension as Maria and her husband make their getaway.  This Maria is played by Tatiana Maslany who gives the outstanding performance of the film.  (And if you've never seen her starring in the series Orphan Black you should.  You really should.)

There's also a lovely cameo role for Jonathan Pryce as the Chief Justice of the US Supreme court, who brings humour and wisdom to his brief appearance.

Overall this feels more like a TV movie than anything worthy of the big screen, despite the acting talent on display.  Visually it is drab, with no outstanding images or sequences to burn the eyes.  Which is a sad indictment given the beauties of Vienna that were available.  The direction does little to bring out the genuine drama in the story (which is based on real world events) and the conclusion feels tame and predictable.  There's a taste of what could, should, have been a genuinely moving experience when Maria, and other survivors of the period, stand up in court to testify about the crimes committed against them in the past, a reminder of the real horror behind the tale.

The problem lies mostly with the characters themselves.  For all that we're supposed to side with Maria, and it's certainly impossible not to empathise with what she went through in her early life, she is so often rude, selfish and unpleasant that the occasional softer moment isn't enough to make the viewer warm to her (although that's to take nothing away from Mirren, who is as good as ever).  Of all the lead characters only the Austrian journalist who comes to their assistance emerges as a bona fide good guy, so it's hard to feel engaged.

I also found it sad that the portrait is now hanging in New York, when it is such an important artefact of Austrian culture.

Worth having a watch if it comes on the telly in future, but not really worth going out for.