Woman In Gold (DVD): Review

Film

Woman In Gold follows the story of Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an elderly refugee from Austria, enlists the help of a young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds). Together they take on the Austrian government, in a bid to recover some pieces of artwork that were stolen from the Altmann family by the Nazis during the occupation in the second world war.

The film is an intriguing drama, as it reveals more about the plight to reacquire the art, while sharing Maria’s past, as a young girl in Austria, and the inherent dangers of that time.

Reynold’s portrayal of real life E. Randol Schoenberg is masterful, bringing a vulnerability to the role, yet allowing the character to portray enthusiasm and a fresh willingness to help Maria recover what is hers. Mirren’s Maria has a funny wit to her, resulting in some humourous duelling between her and Randy, and bringing some brevity to a very heavy, serious topic.

Woman In Gold is a gripping drama. While twists to the story are only slight, they do keep one waiting with bated breath, empathising with what the characters must have felt at that point in the story. The film also highlights a dark time the history, and makes sure we don’t forget such atrocities.

Not just an escape, but an entertaining window into the past, and the life of someone who lived these events, Woman In Gold is one of those gripping pieces of cinema, that has not got the widespread acclaim is deserves.

Disc And Bonus Features

The disc is encoded at a high bitrate, with no visible artefacts on screen. Users with the correct hardware or software can scale up to a larger or higher resolution screen.

Sound is presented in a 5.1 soundtrack, and while the nature and genre of the film doesn’t lend itself to excessive use of the surround channels, there are several scenes where this does expand the on-screen environment, and further draw the user into the on-screen activities.

Disc navigation and menus are basic and statis, yet functional.

There are no bonus features on the disc, other than a few trailers at the beginning of the disc.

Woman In Gold is available now to purchase in disc, in South Africa.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb