Despite its title, Golda isn't a full biopic about the life of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. It's a focused story that captures just a few weeks in Meir's life, as she navigates the 1973 Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria. Narrowing the parameters to a specific event can often make biopics more effective and less unwieldy, but Golda is so limited that it only offers minimal insight about its subject as a person. Even casting an actor as accomplished as Helen Mirren isn't enough to bring Golda to life.
It doesn't help that Mirren is buried beneath layers of prosthetics to make her resemble Meir, and her performance struggles to break through that outer shell. She still finds some moments of emotional connection, especially in a confrontation between Meir and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), as Meir recounts the horrors of growing up Jewish in Ukraine and issues an impassioned diplomatic threat. Mostly, though, Golda is a dry procedural about politicians and military commanders sitting in conference rooms discussing strategy.
The film is framed by another meeting of government officials, a 1974 hearing to address the failures of the Yom Kippur War. As Meir testifies, the movie flashes back to the lead-up to the surprise attack, when the Israeli intelligence service missed the indications of an imminent military offensive. With their forces unprepared, Israel suffers heavy initial losses before making strategic maneuvers to turn the tide of battle. Director Guy Nattiv conveys most of this action via discussions among senior officials as they point at maps, supplemented by archival footage. The movie doesn't have the resources to directly depict military battles, and the brief onscreen action moments look jarringly fake.
Keeping the war largely offscreen wouldn't necessarily be a problem if the political intrigue was more engaging, but most of the policy arguments are tedious, and Nicholas Martin's screenplay fails to convey the scale and positioning of forces via dialogue. When Meir and her advisers listen in on military communications as Israeli units are overrun by the enemy, it's tough to understand the scope of their losses or how a particular plan fell apart. Scenes that should be devastating are instead baffling.
Mirren fares better in Meir's smaller, more personal interactions, as she secretly undergoes cancer treatments while also managing the war. Camille Cottin plays the movie's only other distinctive character, Meir's patient, kind-hearted assistant Lou Kaddar, who functions as adviser, nurse, secretary and surrogate daughter depending on Meir's needs in any given moment. No one in the all-male cadre of high-ranking officials stands out, although Rami Heuberger gets to demonstrate some emotion as rattled defense minister Moshe Dayan.
Visually, Golda favors a straightforward style that resembles midrange TV movies, and Nattiv's primary motif is the ever-present cigarette smoke from Meir and her associates. There are a few artistic flourishes as the swirling smoke obscures the action and turns into a representation of Meir's inner turmoil, but the efforts at symbolism are muddled and weak. Nattiv's incorporation of archival footage is more effective, although the glimpses of real people and real interactions mostly serve as reminders of how inadequate the dramatic representation is.
With its English-language dialogue and casting of international star Mirren, Golda is clearly targeted at a Western audience, and Nattiv tones down any potential political commentary, aiming for an even-handed tone that recognizes shortcomings on both sides. Still, Golda is a celebration of its title character as a shrewd, indomitable leader, and any complex examination of Middle East politics gets left behind. It's a passable history lesson and a superficial character study. ♦
GOLDA
