Golda

As this world becomes more turbulent, the more biopics Hollywood seems to produce in record amounts. Certainly the more compelling the biopic, the more interest it seems to carry. "Golda" certainly is a compelling film which is quite the understatement, and with that, gives us a one two punch in the stomach of what Israel must've endured through the Yom Kippur War in 1973. 

"Golda" is a ticking-clock thriller set during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), faced with the potential of Israel's complete destruction, must navigate overwhelming odds, a skeptical cabinet, consisting of Moshe Dayan (Rami Heuberger) and David "Dado" Elazar (Lior Ashkenazi), and a complex relationship with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), with millions of lives in the balance. Her tough leadership and compassion would ultimately decide the fate of her nation and leave her with a controversial legacy around the world. While she is grasping at all this, she is continually going through cancer treatments, and depends heavily on her personal assistant Lou Kaddar (Camille Cottin). 

Others to round out the cast are Ellie Percy as Shir Shapiro, Rotem Keinan as Zvi Zamir, Dvir Benedek as Eli Zeira, Dominic Mafham as Haim Bar-Leu, Ed Stoppard as Benny Peled and Mark Fleischmann as Minister Uri. 

This was intensely directed by Guy Nattiv ("Strangers" '07, "The Flood" '10, "Magic Men" '14, "Skin" '18) plus shorts. Certainly Mirren is a consummate actor, however, she seemed and looked like she was being raked over the proverbial coals through most of this film, and this is definitely fine and talented directing. Meir's time during this war was certainly not a 'walk in the park' and one could see it evident in Mirren's portrayal, but through the keenness of this filmmaker and obviously Mirren character research made this film incredibly captivating. It was equally well penned by writer Nicholas Martin ("Florence Foster Jenkins" '16) plus TV. Even though this writer has only one feature film to his credit, he still has an exceptional amount of TV experience which, I believe, served him well while writing such an intense, clock-ticking film. I've mentioned repeatedly that even if one doesn't have a myriad of film experience, having that element of TV, shorts, videos, etc, helps tremendously when writing a screenplay for a feature film. Really, other than a couple of very small slow places in script, this screenplay was incredible. And, of course, what can I even say about Helen Mirren? The woman is an acting marvel. Undoubtedly she will receive an Academy Award nomination and could very well take it home. She nailed Meir. Also, Karen Hartley who designed the makeup and hair will probably receive a nod herself. 

If you're into biopics and am a Mirren fan, this is definitely a film you must see, but even not, this is a great history lesson to learn so maybe, just maybe we, as a society, will learn from, so global hatred won't continue. It's a tough watch, but one that probably should be shown in high schools and colleges everywhere. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: PG-13                                              100mins.