Helen Mirren was in some people’s Best Actress predictions last year for “Golda”, but the film was “not ready” to be shown in 2022. I had the exclusive in August when the film’s PR contacted me and said they had delayed the film to 2023.
This biopic, which has Mirren playing former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, finally screened yesterday at the Berlin Film Festival and reviews are concerning.
I’m not sure sure what the release strategy is for “Golda” but, with mediocre awards chances and limited commercial prospects, it’s definitely going to get dumped by its studio Bleecker Street.
Total pans from The Guardian, IndieWire, Screen, The Times. Meanwhile, Deadline, Telegraph, Variety, and THR are mixed, but with praise for Mirren’s performance.
A teaser had been released last week and it looked awful. Mirren doesn’t even try to nail Meir’s thick Israeli accent, instead, she actually sounds American. What a strange creative decision.
Last year, there was a bit of controversy concerning Mirren’s casting. The English actress is not Jewish and some believed the lead role should have gone to a Jewish actress. I couldn’t care less who played Meir, I just wanted a good movie.
Directed by Guy Nattiv and written by Nicholas Martin (Florence Foster Jenkins), “Golda” is a thriller that chronicles the high-stake responsibilities and controversial decisions that Meir faced during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.