The drama Woman In Gold comes out in Kalamazoo theatres on April 10th.
When I was a senior in college, Helen Mirren taught me the true definition of the word “regal.” She did it simply by walking into a room.
I was attending the press junket for a film she had made called "White Nights" and Columbia Pictures had invited a few young journalists to interview Ms. Mirren. Often at such events, the stars try to be ingratiating and charming, joking around and posing for pictures. Such was not the case with Ms. Mirren, who entered the screening room in silence with a straightened back, head held high and a look in her eyes that instantly let us know she was in no mood for nonsense.
During her interview, she was well-mannered and gave thoughtful, insightful answers - but when the time was up she rose from her chair, thanked us and then vanished without signing a single autograph. It felt to all of us as if we had been in the presence of royalty.
In the decades since, that air of authority, that analytical eye have become the signatures of many a Helen Mirren performance. With a single well-timed glance, she can spell out everything. It happens midway through Mirren's latest film Woman In Gold, which is based on the true story of Maria Altmann and her quest for justice.
Altmann was born into a wealthy Austrian Jewish household in the early 20th century and lost most of her family when the Nazis came to power. She was forced to flee to the U.S. and among the treasures she had to leave behind was a magnificent painting titled “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” by Gustav Klimt. The subject was Maria's aunt, a celebrated beauty who died in the mid-1920s. Eventually, the artwork would be renamed “Woman in Gold” and would hang in Vienna's Belvedere gallery where it became known as Austria's Mona Lisa.
In the 1990s, Maria made it her mission to take back the painting and enlisted a young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg, whose family had Austrian roots. Eventually, Maria had to face her past and return – very much against her will – to Austria, which she had not seen in more than 50 years.
This is where that wonderful look comes into play: At one point, Maria is seen simply gazing into a mirror while brushing her hair. Suddenly and silently, a shower of conflicting emotions is reflected in her eyes: excitement, apprehension, grief, determination. Mirren conveys each one and does so without a sound. It's a wonderfully poignant moment.
The rest of Woman In Gold is less subtle. Mirren develops a pleasingly prickly partnership with Ryan Reynolds, who plays Schoenberg as an idealist who gradually finds his confidence. German star Daniel Bruhl is very good as a journalist who helps the duo cut through Austrian red tape, and Elizabeth McGovern makes a brief but notable appearance as a sympathetic judge.
Alexi Kaye Campbell's screenplay and Simon Curtis' direction are occasionally a bit too on-the-nose, feeding us information through sometimes stilted speeches. But still, Woman In Gold is a largely compelling story that takes a surprisingly tough look at Austria's relationship with the Nazis and casts an unflattering light on how the Austrian people treated Jews.
There's a real sense of terror and disorientation when young Maria and her family begin to realize their glorious apartment is turning into a gilded cage with a Nazi officer holding them under house arrest and nasty neighbors waiting for them outside their door. The feeling of being a stranger in your own hometown is enough to chill your blood.
Given this, it's easy to understand why art restitution is so crucially important to survivors like Maria Altmann. In reclaiming a lost treasure, it's as if you can bring back your family and that long-vanquished home, at least symbolically. It's also a reminder that while good times and bad times eventually pass, a great masterpiece like Klimt's painting – or, for that matter, Helen Mirren – always lives on.
