Woman in Gold

Dir: Simon Curtis

2015

***

Alexi Kaye Campbell's script for 2015's Woman in Gold is thoroughly riveting from start to finish. I've been a fan of Gustav Klimt's work since my time at art school and like most people I am familiar with his Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (or The Woman in Gold as it is also known). However, I had no idea of the history of the painting or indeed who the Woman in Gold really was. The recent story regarding the painting seemed to have passed me by so it is brilliant that it has been made into this educational and entertaining feature. As far as content is concerned, I was engrossed throughout and having now researched the real story I can see that Simon Curtis, Alexi Kaye Campbell and company left few facts out of the film, although certain scenes now leave quite a sour taste in the mouth. It's such a shame that Maria Altmann died before the release of the film as for all the injustices she suffered in her life the final insult was in the way she was portrayed. Helen Mirren's portrayal may have been accurate to some degree but the way her character was written clearly wasn't. Her friends and few remaining family members were outraged when in the film we see her abandon her father in Austria to escape the Nazis. In truth, Maria and her husband left Austria after her father's death as she refused to leave without him. It might seem like a minor detail but when telling someone’s story I believe it has to be 100% accurate out of respect and if a story is worth telling, it's worth telling right. Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds were both fine in their performances but gave the film an unnecessary Hollywood feel. Daniel Bruhl and Tatiana Maslany were also good but it almost felt like they were staring in a completely different film. The flash-back scenes were far more interesting than the present day scenes but neither worked particularly well together. The editing was fairly shoddy throughout and the structure of the film really lets down the story. I feel this should have been an in depth documentary rather than a dramatization. I was interested throughout but feel somewhat short-changed, like I still don't really know the full story and that some of the more juicy aspects of the tale have yet to be learned.