Yes No Maybe So: Woman in Gold
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 at 1:13PM
Manuel here trying to fend off urgings to unwrap all my (cinematic) presents today ahead of schedule (why must so many good films come out on Christmas Day?) Thus, while I have to wait until tomorrow at least to catch Selma, A Most Violent Year, Two Days One Night and Into the Woods, I’ll have to settle for some christmas stocking stuffers in the form of a new trailer featuring the one and only Tatiana Maslany.
Oh, and some Oscar-winning Dame as well.
The Woman in Gold follows Maria Altman (Helen Mirren), a Jewish refugee hoping to get back the family possessions taken from her by the Nazis, with the aid of a young lawyer (Ryan Reynolds). Among these possessions is the Klimt painting "The Lady in Gold" which gives the film its title.
Let’s break it down with the TFE-patented approach of YES/NO/MAYBE SO, shall we?
YES
- Maslany. For those of us who watch Orphan Black, we know what Maslany is capable of (pretty much anything considering she’s played over 8 different clone variations in that sci-fi show). I’m very happy to see her slowly beginning to make a dent on the big screen. From the glimpses we get she may get the more dramatic and exciting moments of the film (that shot of her in an airplane (?) packs quite the punch even as the rest of the film looks like it'll be quite talky and pedestrian.
- Daniel Bruhl. Barely in the trailer, but he gets a handsome “Golden Globe Nominated” title card so here’s hoping he gets to do more than provide the pretty.
- The scene where Altman’s aunt is being painted by Klimt looks rather lovely, with its gold-tinged light giving the scene a glow that the rest of the trailer sorely lacks. Also, that necklace and dress look gorgeous.
MAYBE SO
- Mirren. Since winning her Oscar, she has made the seemingly unconscious choice to make milquetoast material intermittently sing (see The Hundred Foot Journey, Phil Spector, Arthur, Hitchcock), yet here she seems to be channeling fellow Dame Judi Dench getting her own Philomena-style film out there. Will the film (especially in those courtroom scenes) give her something exciting to do? (That said, “How can you see out of those glasses? They’re filthy” and “But I want to buy perfume and cognac and duty free” are hard to stomach)
- How will the film shuttle between its time frames? We’re given Mirren’s present day take, memories of her as a young girl and as a young woman. Should these different timelines be interwoven in interesting ways, it may lift the film out of its dusty premise.
- “We should be reunited with what is rightfully ours.” As a clamoring closing arguments this doesn’t quite have the ring first time screenwriter Alexi Kaye Campbell probably intended it to have.
NO
- Ryan Reynolds. With glasses (because he’s a smart lawyer see?) I feel Bradley Cooper should be giving Reynolds a primer on how to turn his leading man looks into a bona fide career. That said, am I the only one who thinks a haircut might help? Doesn’t Reynolds look pretty much the same regardless of role and genre?
- “Based on the incredible true story.” “An unlikely pair.” Talk about hammering a point to the ground. We get it. Also, its golden background images for these titles seem more at home in a student-led powerpoint than in a Weinstein Co. trailer.
- “This is like a James Bond film.” Except… it feels more National Treasure meets The Monuments Men, no?
- I can’t quite place the score being used, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was kept on a folder titled “Inspiring/Uplifting Tracks: Do Not Use Sparingly.”
- Simon Curtis made the passable and at times entertaining My Week With Marilyn. From this trailer, we seem to be back in “promising material with a great cast that nevertheless feels like it belongs in a Lifetime movie.” Also, I know it’s a convention, but is there really no better way to connote “flashbacks” than muted color schemes?
- Oh, did I mention Katie Holmes is in this? She has a blink-and-you'll miss her moment in the trailer but she seems to be Reynolds' partner (a bland casting match made in heaven).
The Woman in Gold comes out April 3rd, 2015 in the US. Check out the trailer below.
Unsurprisingly, I’m a NO for while I enjoy most of the cast, both the material and its treatment seem to leave much to be desired. This feels like a lump of coal in my stocking even as it’s aiming to be a semi-serious treacly trifle. Where does everyone else lie? Am I being too much of a grinch towards Mirren & co?
Reader Comments (8)
Yes: I love the cast. Especially Maslany whom I consider one of the most exciting actresses living.
No: That script sounds terrible. If the trailer makes me cringe, the film can only be worse.
Maybe so: It's a BBC production so it will be easy on the eyes. It's Vienna....
But that script is telling me to stay away.
Ugh I was so disappointed by this trailer. I love Klimt, the Adele Bloch- Bauer painting (at Neue Galerie!) and the recovery of it is already such a great story..but it looks like they have smothered cheese all over it and dropped cliche bombs throughout. Just looks like a missed opportunity all around.
MASLANY PLAYING YOUNG HELEN MIRREN?? Whither my pre-order??????
season 3 of orphan black starts april 18th; i can wait the extra two weeks
I like Ryan Reynolds but feel Patrick Wilson or Paul Bettany would have been better fits. But hey I'm always open to being surprised.
Can't stand Ryan Reynolds, and I was thinking "Philomena" the whole time. No.
I presume that this is based on Anne-Marie O'Connor's book "The Lady in Gold," which is quite interesting...so perhaps you should go read the book and forget the movie.
Gosh. It is incredible how many wild assumptions can be made on the basis of a simple trailer (sarcasm)! As for Reynolds, I suggest you read the reviews on his film The Voices.