Berlinale 2015: Woman in Gold

Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl
Length: 107 minutes
Country: UK

Woman in Gold aims to be a prestige picture, but ends up being a camp classic instead. In its failed attempt to balance a light and humorous A-plot with a deadly serious backstory it spirals into a descent of the most ridiculous pathos. By the end, I couldn’t take a single thing seriously, and judging by the continual laughs in the audience – and not just at the corny jokes – neither could anyone else. Despite its ambition to be another Harvey Weinstein film for the ages (the company logo actually received some abuse in the crowd) it ends up being the definition of kitsch.

The plot concerns the so-called ‘last prisoners of the Nazis’ – a series of prized paintings that cannot be reunited with their owners due to a series of bureaucratic Austrian laws. One such claimant is Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), a Jewish woman whose aunt was the subject of Klimt’s most famous painting Adele Bloch-Bauer I”. When her sister dies in 1998, she finds a precious document allowing her to make a case against the Austrian Government and thus hires a lawyer, Mr Schöneberg, played by the inimitable Ryan Reynolds. He is the grandson of the Schöneberg himself, as is repeated constantly throughout the movie. In one of many silly scenes Reynolds actually attends a concert, and tries his best to cry. Reynolds and Mirren make a great double team,and, together, they attempt to make their case, despite all the odds stacked against them.

Despite its ambition to be another Harvey Weinstein film for the ages (the company logo actually received some abuse in the crowd) it ends up being the definition of kitsch.

The production and plot has many flaws. One scene of great amusement to me: as they were driving around L.A, we can clearly see a poster for Guardians of the Galaxy in the distance. Very strange considering its 1998. I’m sure this will be rectified for future screenings. Another curious scene is when Mrs Altmann is in Washington and has a Proustian flashback to landing in Liberty Island. Do the filmmakers sincerely believe the the Statue of Liberty and the Supreme Court are in the same state? However, the court scenes are handled with a true joy for legal procedure, and there is an exciting chase scene as Maria and her husband escape to America. As stated above, the film is set primarily in 1998. Its corny spirit makes it feel like it was made in 1998.

It has one of those all-time supporting casts, Charles Dance as the haughty boss of Reynolds’ initial law firm, Jonathan Pryce as the banterous judge at a Supreme Court, and Daniel Brühl as an Austrian investigative reporter. It’s one of those films that a few people will rediscover years from now on a late-night slot, somewhere in the depths of their televisions and hardly believe so much talent went into such a curiously misjudged picture. Most of the credit has to go to Ryan Reynolds. He’s simply can’t do drama, and I only had to look at his over-strained face in order to crack up. Helen Mirren tries her best, but the wildly uneven script undermines her sincerity at every turn.

There is a ridiculous Wild Strawberries-style scene at the end where she walks around her old  Vienna flat (now turned into an office) and is suddenly transported back into the past. It should have been a cathartic and beautiful moment. Instead it reaches a ecstasy of hilariousness. There is nothing really funny about the subject matter – examining the disgusting legacy of the Nazi past – but Woman in Gold’s epic misjudgement turns it into a ripping yarn. This film is a lot of fun, but for all the wrong reasons.

Image source: berlinale.de