Review | Golda movie review: Helen Mirren plays Golda Meir, the Iron Lady of Israeli politics during 1973 war, in dreary portrait
- Helen Mirren dons a wig and a false nose for this portrayal of elder Israeli stateswoman Golda Meir during the 1973 Yom Kippur war
- Despite a strong performance from Mirren, the film is dreary and fails to translate the complexities of Israeli politics at the time
2/5 stars
Dame Helen Mirren stars as Golda Meir, the Iron Lady of Israeli politics, in this disappointingly dreary snapshot of her life.
A film that zeroes in on the Yom Kippur war in 1973, the Middle East conflict to which Meir is inextricably linked, it’s a film that never establishes a comfortable rhythm.
As the opening text reminds us, in 1948, the state of Israel was born. Twenty-five years later, the country is under siege, with Egypt and Syria attempting to recapture land – the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights – taken by Israel during the Six-Day War, in 1967.
“This is 1948 again,” Meir says. “We are fighting for our lives.” The action largely unfolds in the war-room, as Meir navigates the conflict; a misguided wraparound sequence, set a year later, sees her answering for her actions to an investigative committee.