Woman in Gold

Writer Alexi Kaye Campbell and director Simon Curtis hew closely to the facts in telling the true story of Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), who successfully petitioned the Austrian government for the return of five Gustav Klimt masterpieces stolen from her family by Adolf Hitler's thugs. Mirren is, as always, a formidable tower of strength, as is the often-underrated Ryan Reynolds as her American attorney. Daniel Brühl, as a sympathetic Austrian journalist, matches them when he can, though his character is given short shrift in deference to Anglo-American star power (in real life, the journalist's work was far more crucial to the outcome). It's an immensely satisfying David-and-Goliath story, showing that sometimes the good guys win—even if it takes 70 years and the gumption of a Helen Mirren to do it. J.L.