Woman in Gold 2015

Wesley Morris, Grantland: Sometimes you know a movie is going to work in about the first three scenes. This one really works. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Under Harvey Weinstein's sponsorship, this remarkable story has become a paint-by-numbers variation on the producer's far better "Philomena." Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: It's a touching film that entertains with warmth and humor while teaching us something about history, law and justice with enormous heart, subtlety and compassion, brilliantly acted and skillfully written. Is there anything Helen Mirren cannot do? Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: This heavy-handed retelling of the fight to reclaim a Gustav Klimt painting stolen by Nazis is no masterpiece. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Woman In Gold bends a complicated legal quagmire-heavy on questions of ownership and national responsibility-into a crowd-pleasing David and Goliath story. The title, too generic for Klimt's masterpiece, suits the movie just fine. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Yes, it's based on a true story, a story that is compelling in its own right. But that doesn't mean the filmmakers get a free pass in presenting it to us. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Woman in Gold" is dutiful and surprisingly dull, rolling along pre-ordained tracks and the familiar cadences of screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell's dialogue and situations. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The Nazis' illegal seizure of hundreds of thousands of artworks -- the subject of the fine 2006 documentary The Rape of Europa -- becomes the pretext for heavy-handed sentimentality in this British-American docudrama. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The relationship between Altmann and Schoenberg, sometimes testy but always loving, plays out like two actors acting, rather than two actors inhabiting a real situation. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Woman in Gold" may be a bit obvious, but it's still a story worth telling. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: Even Helen Mirren, the Queen Midas of class acting, can't fix this well-intentioned miss. Read more

Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News: While the story is truly one of a kind, the film often feels like a TV movie of the week, even one of those treacly Hallmark productions. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: While Helen Mirren elevates the material with her usual aplomb and the events being depicted inevitably are stirring, this is a stodgy crusade-for-justice drama, directed and written with minimal flair. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: The film does have an asset that can't be ignored, and that's Helen Mirren's tip-top performance as the film's costar. It's not enough to save the picture, but it certainly makes a difference. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Rich details but thin characters make for a disappointingly flat drama. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's all a little tired and condescending - like some screenwriter's self-serving memories of his last trip to see Mom - and having Mirren occasionally exclaim what fun or thrills they're having doesn't make it so. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: For all its broad brush strokes, Woman in Gold can't help but tell a moving populist parable about the will to power of an ordinary woman ... taking on powerful institutions to regain a tiny fraction of her family's appalling losses. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Director Simon Curtis is lucky to have Helen Mirren on hand, since she can turn the film's art history speeches into something that sounds like conversation. But the screenplay doesn't do either of them any favors. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Next to Mirren, [Reynolds is] like a dope in a museum, trying to be respectful of the genius around him but unable to sit still. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: A legal fight over the struggle for ownership of an artwork is hardly the stuff of high drama. And the screenplay can't find a way to make that conflict, or the ethical and moral issues involved, compelling ... Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Woman in Gold has a great story to tell, and the filmmakers have opted for the safest, slickest way to tell it. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Like most dramas, it seeks to connect with its audience and, providing they are open to the story it's telling, it works both as a reminder of past wrongs and an assurance that justice sometimes triumphs. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: Simon Curtis' "Woman in Gold" is a shamelessly sentimental fictionalization of this true story, but it's a fascinating story nonetheless, beautifully photographed and greatly elevated by a brilliant performance from the invaluable Helen Mirren. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: After seeing the film's touching final title cards briefly describing the fates of the characters, I couldn't help wishing for a documentary version. Read more

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: The engaging but perfunctory Woman in Gold isn't exactly an exercise in subtlety, but this eager-to-please film proves that the formidable Helen Mirren can provide interesting nuances even in a story where few exist. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: When not returning to the Nazi regime's war crimes, the story becomes a rather legalistic quest for justice. Campbell's cumbersome dialogue often sounds copied from legal documents. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Despite a debatable focus and dubious moralizing -money plays a pivotal role in the final outcome - "The Woman in Gold" works, largely because of the odd-couple chemistry between Mirren and Reynolds. Read more

Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail: Director Simon Curtis milks the predictable drama, thrills and heartache of the Holocaust-era story, but it's a paint-by-numbers triumph, a copy of something we've seen many times before. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Based on a true story about a fight for justice wrapped in passion, memory and determination, and told using the considerable talents of Helen Mirren, Woman in Gold should be a much better movie. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Offers nothing that a documentary or even a long magazine article about Altmann and Schoenberg's triumph couldn't have captured better. For a film about a timeless painting, it's surprisingly artless. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: It's potent material that becomes the stuff of a workmanlike true-life drama, spoon-feeding its audience a steady diet of speeches and schmaltz. Read more

Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun: Mirren is the single reason to watch the movie. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The film is saved by engaging performances from Mirren and Reynolds, who shine as their characters' relationship deepens. Read more

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: Woman in Gold reaches for glossy, based-on-a-true-story cinematic heights with the depth of one of its made-for-television counterparts. Read more

Serena Donadoni, Village Voice: What Woman in Gold has over nonfiction portrayals is emotion, and director Simon Curtis milks every scene for its heart-tugging potential. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Stirring at times, soggy and overly sentimental at others, the film moves surprisingly slow, even though its action, which takes place over many years of legal maneuvering, has been condensed for narrative expediency. Read more