Woman in Gold

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:6). These closing words of the Old Testament describe what happens to both characters in this movie. Maria's father sends her to America so that she may continue the legacy of their family and Randol throughout the movie comes to value his roots above money and vocation. The earth will be cursed if family heritages are not continued or remembered. While this movie has powerful themes and great acting, the story was not told effectively. It is hard to tell whether it is the fault of the director or the screenwriter or even both. Either way, the plot failed to set up and payoff the dramatic moments that the actors played out before us.

Funny enough, I watched "The Sound of Music" the day before I saw this. One thing "Women in Gold" taught me is that the majority of Austrians welcomed the Nazis in 1938. The Anschluss wouldn't have happened as peacefully as it did otherwise. In a 1998 scene, we see that there are still Austrians that do not care for restitution as one stranger voices his opposition to Maria. Speaking of 1998, I like the attention that was given to even the scenes set in that decade. The technology and cars we see are period enough. At least Randol doesn't use a Smartphone. My favorite part of the plot of this movie is the change that Randol undergoes. It begins at the Holocost memorial site in Vienna, which I must say is quite small. Maybe it looks better in person. We also get great drama from the flashback scenes. I noticed that for the scenes that take place before the Anschluss, the visual hue is golden in nature. My favorite scene in the movie is Maria and her husband's escape from Nazi custody. As mentioned however, the film's story has flaws. Why does Maria change her mind so much? One instance of her changing her mind would have provided all the drama needed, especially if it occurred towards the end of the movie. Multiple such scenes however get redundant. Also, the conflict between Randol and Pam needed to be resolved more realistically. In one scene, Pam is shocked that Randol quit his job but in their next scene together, she has already sided with him. All in all, our main characters jumped the metaphorical hurdles that were placed before them too easily. Things worked out for them too conveniently such as the appearance and involvement of Hubertus.

There were no major problems with the acting. Both Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds did well although there could have been a little more chemistry between the two of them. It was great to see Katie Holmes and Jonathan Pryce in "Woman in Gold". You wouldn't be too disappointed with this film if you saw it because it has strong themes but with a little more work story-wise, this show could have been really powerful.

3.5 Stars