I’m not a fan of Ryan Reynolds especially after watching the disaster that was The Green Lantern and some piece of tripe he starred in with Jason Bateman. In fact, I don’t care for his acting at all, and I’m being generous when I call it acting. Helen Mirren, on the other hand, is brilliant, fabulous, and classy even if the movie she stars in is horrible and disintegrates around her.
When I saw that Ryan Reynolds had been graciously cast opposite Helen Mirren in the movie Woman in Gold, I cringed wondering if even she could carry the dead weight of Reynold’s flat acting and bleating voice. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she didn’t have to.
Woman in Gold tells the story of Maria Altmann, a young Jewish woman who fled Austria with her husband during World War II. Sixty years after her forced exile, Maria seeks the help of Attorney Randy Schoenberg to reclaim the famous Gustav Klimt painting of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer. Maria and Randy take the battle all the way to the US Supreme Court with a slowly building intensity that often left me clenching my teeth as I awaited the outcome of each painful step. I won’t spoil the ending, but rather, I’ll say this is one movie that should not be missed.
What I will focus on is the impression the movie left upon me. It is hard to imagine a regime so evil that it would perfect the practice of hatred to the level that the Nazis did. And yet, one can hardly turn on the news or surf the Internet without seeing this same type of barbarism taking place today all over the world. God forgive us that we are allowing it to happen again.
Equally chilling is the arrogance and indifference with which these acts of terror are met. Of course, it is absolutely criminal that personal property is stolen, but more important are the lives that are being destroyed. As Helen Mirren portraying Maria Altmann said regarding the restitution of the stolen art, it will not bring them back. Still, it is a small step toward acknowledging and righting the wrongs committed.
Then the problem becomes how do we stop the crimes that are occurring now as we make restitution for the past while preventing the evil from raising its ugly head in our future? I believe the answer lies within each person on a daily basis. What will you chose to do today? Acts of good or deeds of evil?
hl gibson, author 
Thought provoking. Well said.
Thank you for bring this to mind thru a movie review of sorts. To knowingly carry out an evil deed is outside of my life experience, however I am aware that evil is all around us every day. My life choice was made long ago when promising myself to choose to do good and not harm whenever possible. Acknowledging not everyone has made such a self-promise, it does not surprise when a reminder comes that evil has been around for as long as there have been people. Humans seem to find new ways to do evil as society evolves. Lord help us.
Every moment of every day, we must struggle to make the conscious choice to do good. I know I have to! Thankfully, the more good one does, the easier it becomes.
Thank you! I would have skipped this movie because of the reasons you stated…Ryan R. is not my cup of tea! ;))) Wildly Yours, Wild Thing
Yes, poor Mr. Reynolds rarely, if ever, receives high marks from me. But really, don’t let that deter you from seeing this movie!