‘Golda’ Review – Helen Mirren’s Turn At Playing An Iron Lady

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

As you walk out of Golda, there will be two thoughts on your mind. The first is that Helen Mirren is an incredibly gifted actress, and the second will be…didn’t I see this film before? And the answer is yes. Yes, you did. You saw it in 2011. Only then, it starred Meryl Streep, also plastered in layers of makeup and prosthetics, almost unrecognizable, while portraying an aging, female leader of a foreign country on the brink of war. Last time, however, it led to Meryl Streep winning her third Academy Award. Could the same fate be in the cards for Helen Mirren? Perhaps, but there’s room for doubt.

One thing the film has going for it, is that it’s a significantly better film than The Iron Lady. Golda Meir, the prime minister of Israel, has just gotten word that war is coming to her borders from neighboring countries who don’t believe in Israel’s independence. The story follows Meir’s actions from the day she learned of the attack to the days that followed, up until her peace treaty with Egypt and her death. Helen Mirren is absolutely compelling as the former Prime Minister. She’s haughty, commanding, and has a serious chain-smoking addiction. These days are around the last of her life. She’s been diagnosed with cancer and dealing with a war. She’s given up fighting for her life, but she won’t stop fighting for her country.

The life of Golda Meir is a complicated and controversial one. The film hints at that controversy throughout its runtime but still tries to maintain a sympathetic lens towards the minister—very similar to what was done with Margaret Thatcher. A leader whose decisions cost many people their lives and livelihood, but one who also understood the cost, carried the burden, and dealt with the consequences. One of the fascinating aspects of this film is Golda’s tense and mutually beneficial friendship with former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, played by the always capable, Liev Schreiber. Their conversations are always curt, respectful, and tenuous. This fraught but beneficial relationship helps us see the way in which Meir navigates through the war and orchestrates a peace treaty.

Golda, while not explicitly a war film, shows one scene of battle, and the rest is recordings of what the soldiers and generals went through during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The recordings are haunting in themselves, and the scenes when they’re played are resonant and heartbreaking. Those who lived through this time or have any familial connection with the Israeli army of that period may not take kindly to the sympathetic nature in which Golda Meir is shown. Even in the final scene, where they show the real Golda having a conversation with Egypt’s leader, is jovial and tells jokes. That’s the Golda Meir they know, and this retelling may be too fictionalized for their experience. 

Still, the star of the show here is Helen Mirren. Outside of multiple scenes of her smoking cigarette after cigarette, she is given a lot to do. She has to convey Golda’s humorous nature and contrast it with her hard stance on maintaining Israel’s independence even in the face of assured defeat. She has to approach certain scenes with humility and even despair, and Mirren knocks it out of the park. She’s also dealing with a woman near the end of her life, whose will has left her. The complexity of emotions that Mirren goes through for this performance is outstanding. It’ll be a difficult road for Mirren to capture another golden trophy for this role, but she most certainly should be in the race. 

Golda is currently playing in theaters courtesy of Bleecker Street. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unW5w6JCEb8]