Movie Review: Woman in Gold

Earlier this week, I treated myself to an afternoon at the movies and saw Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. I was expecting an entertaining film about the injustice experienced at the hands of the Nazis. What I experienced was a moving portrait of forgiveness and coming to grips with the past.

The film is based on the true story of a Jewish woman, Maria Altmann, living in Los Angeles in the 1990s who hires a neophyte attorney, Randy Schoenberg (portrayed by Reynolds), to help her acquire a painting that had been in her childhood home. The painting, familiarly called Woman in Gold, is housed in an Austrian museum and is considered one of the nation's artistic treasures. The beautiful portrait was stolen by the Nazis; when it was discovered after the war, a questionable will was found that left the art work to the Austrian museum.

In order to pursue what is rightfully hers, Maria and Randy must travel to Vienna. Maria has no desire to return to the city from which she escaped and finds herself facing ghosts and demons she long thought were dead. Randy's journey to Austria has an unexpected effect on him. The young lawyer's grandfather was Arnold Schoenberg, the Jewish composer who also had to leave Vienna because of the Nazi regime and the oppressive antisemitism that pervaded the city.

Two of the most powerful scenes of the movie come when both Maria and Randy realize that attitudes are changing. Randy attends a concert of his grandfather's music in one of Vienna's most important halls -- where Schoenberg's sounds had been rejected for decades. While attempting to reacquire Woman in Gold through the Austrian legal system, Maria encounters Austrians who maintain the antisemitism of the 1940s as well as young Austrians who are attempting to bring about change while making amends for the crimes of their fathers.

As a performing artist, I loved this film. The discussions about painting and music struck a chord with me. However, I was pleased to see that the movie's message about the power of the arts was not lost on the lay people in the audience. More importantly, I was struck by the power of the story of human suffering, persevering, and forgiveness. While watching Woman in Gold, I found myself reaching for a napkin to dry the tears that formed in my eyes. The movie truly was touching and a film worth checking out for yourself. You will leave with a new understanding about life, family, and love.

Let me make it simple for you. If you are breathing, you NEED to see Woman in Gold before it leaves the theaters.