Helen Mirren’s ‘Woman in Gold’ Targets New Respect After Critical Backlash at the Berlin Film Festival

Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds star in the upcoming Woman in Gold.

The movie had its World Premiere February 9th at the Berlin Film Festival and critics came gunning for it. "A stodgy crusade for justice directed with minimal flair," said one. "Heavy handed," said another. "For a while I wasn't quite sure why I hated Woman In Gold so very, very much," was another opinion.  With only seven reviews counted on Rotten Tomatoes so far only one drew a fresh and its score right now just days before its domestic release stands at 17%. The Weinstein Company is distributing the film, and Harvey Weinstein really wanted to launch it in Berlin.

According to Deadline, the reviews were a bit absurd as reviews in the US were all positive.

A couple of years ago, Oscar-nominated films received skewered reviews by critics at the Toronto International Film Festival for both Mandela and August Osage County. Those films just weren't completely finished. Festivals can be a double-edged sword. Alexander Payne tweaked his Oscar-nominated Nebraska between its Cannes and Telluride screenings and it made a huge difference in the tone of the film, really bringing out the humor that seemed much darker in Cannes.

Woman in Gold is based on a true story that stars Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann, a Jewish woman who had fled Vienna during World War II. After 60 years, she begins an attempt, with the help of a very green lawyer Randy Schoenberg (played by Ryan Reynolds), to reclaim her family possessions stolen by the Nazis, including a very famous painting by Gustav Klimt. The journey not only takes them to the highest courts in both Austria and the United States but also helps both rediscover their own similar family pasts. Both stars are excellent.

Although the film is filled with tension and emotion, there was, nevertheless, humor especially with the instant on-set chemistry between Mirren and Reynolds.