Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes for Israel to win a war against its Arab neighbors. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 would be too short, but 101 is just excessive). Here is his 100-word review of Golda.
The Premise – In 1973, Israel was attacked by several Arab
states (led by Egypt and Syria) on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom
Kippur. The war would last for about 20 days but took many twists and turns, and
at one point seemed to have Israel poised on the verge of a terrible defeat.
This film tells the story of that war, mostly through the eyes of Israel’s
Prime Minister, Golda Meir (Helen Mirren). The film also stars Camile Cottin
(Stillwater, House of Gucci) as Meir’s personal assistant and Liev Schreiber
(Ray Donovan, Spotlight) as U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
The 100 Words – More a war pic than a biography of an
important historical figure, I found myself disappointed with this film. The story
lurches around and we rarely get to know the characters well enough to understand
them. Mirren looks like Golda, but even a great actress can’t create substance from
a paint-by-numbers script. All the violent battle scenes are done with
animation or radio conversations while military leaders listen in, which looks
cheap and makes the battles dull. The direction is overly artistic and stylized
instead of focused on telling a story. Though not awful, the great Golda Meir deserves
better.
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