Woman in Gold

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INT. KLIMT’S STUDIO, VIENNA. DAY. 1907

During the credits we watch the creation of a masterpiece:

GUSTAV KLIMT painting ADELE BLOCH-BAUER, his magnetic muse.

Klimt has a larger than life, sexual presence, and there is

something almost erotic about the way he paints his model,

which the sensual Adele is more than aware of. As his rough

hands apply gold-leaf to the canvas, Adele shuffles in her

seat. Klimt speaks in German -marked in italics, as it is

throughout the script.

KLIMT KLIMT (CONT’D)

Move to the left a little. Rück ein wenig nach links

She does so.

ADELE ADELE (CONT’D)

Like this? So? Oder so?

He walks up to her, touches her just beneath the shoulder,

adjusts the angle she is sitting at, then returns to his

canvas. As he moves away, she shuffles again.

KLIMT KLIMT (CONT’D)

You are restless today. Du bist unruhig heute.

ADELE ADELE (CONT’D)

I worry too much, you know Ich mache mir zu viele

that. Sorgen, das weisst du.

KLIMT KLIMT (CONT’D)

About what? Worüber?

ADELE ADELE (CONT’D)

The future. Die Zukunft.

EXT. ELIZABETHSTRASSE, VIENNA. DAY. 1938

The Bloch-Bauer residence on Elizabethstrasse. HEINRICH and

KLAUS, two soldiers in Nazi uniform, stand outside it and

start pounding loudly on the front doors. Standing behind

them in civilian clothes is the Gestapo agent, FELIX LANDAU.

HEINRICH HEINRICH (CONT’D)

Open the door! Öffnen Sie die Tür!

EXT. LOS ANGELES STREET. DAY.

Superimposed caption : LOS ANGELES, 1999

A car drives down a Los Angeles street and passes by a small

knitwear boutique - this little shop looks very European,

small and quaint - quite incongruous in the West Hollywood

surroundings.

INT. MARIA’S BOUTIQUE. DAY.

The phone is ringing in Maria’s knitwear boutique, as MARIA

is handing a purple cardigan over to a customer. Maria is an

elderly, beautiful woman who oozes old world charm and

elegance. Behind her chic ensembles and delicate manner

however there is a fair amount of steel as well as an

anarchic streak. Her customer is LIZBET, another elderly

woman of European provenance.

MARIA:

When I saw this one I decided it

had your name on it.

Lizbet tries on the cardigan.

MARIA (CONT’D)

Purple is definitely your colour. I

don’t know why it’s taken you sixty

years to discover it.

The phone keeps ringing; Maria excuses herself with a smile

and answers it.

MARIA (ON THE PHONE) (CONT’D)

Hello? Yes, my dear, it is. I see.

Yes, of course. Thank you for

letting me know.

She puts down the receiver. And in her face we see that she

has just received some life-changing news. Lizbet notices.

LIZBET:

Are you alright Maria?

And when Maria utters her sister’s name, it is to herself.

MARIA:

Luise.

EXT. A CEMETERY. DAY.

A Jewish cemetery on a sunny afternoon, an oasis of calm

against the Los Angeles skyline. People huddled around

LUISE’S coffin as Maria makes a short speech. She looks

dignified in an unostentatious suit.

MARIA:

My sister and I loved each other

but the truth is that we were

always competing. If life is a

race, then she has beaten me to the

finishing line. But if it is a

boxing match, then I’m the last one

standing.

A ripple of laughter from those who knew them both. With a

spade, Maria throws some earth into the grave. And when she

speaks again, it is quietly, looking down at her sister’s

coffin.

MARIA (CONT’D)

Either way, we went through a lot

together, and I will miss you. Auf

wiedersehen, Liebe Schwester.

EXT. A CEMETERY. DAY. LATER

As the mourners make their way to the waiting limos in the

late afternoon sun, Maria is accompanied by BARBARA

SCHOENBERG, an old family friend. Barbara is in her sixties;

an academic who is intelligent and warm.

MARIA:

Thank you for coming, Barbara, to

have you here means a lot.

BARBARA:

Our families go back a long way.

How are you coping?

MARIA:

I’m getting used to losing the

people I love. Practice makes

perfect, my dear.

And that reminds her of a job that needs doing.

MARIA (CONT’D)

Barbara. Your son, the lawyer..

BARBARA:

Randy?

MARIA:

Last time I saw him he was wearing

braces and reading a Spiderman

comic. How is he?

BARBARA:

Struggling, I’m afraid.

Maria looks at her, uncomprehending.

BARBARA (CONT’D)

After law school he worked at a

fancy firm for four years, then

decided to set out on his own in

Pasadena.

MARIA:

So what happened?

BARBARA:

It all fell apart. Add those debts

to seven years of student loans and

things aren’t great.

MARIA:

I’m sorry to hear it.

They’ve reached the cars. A chauffeur opens the door for

Maria.

BARBARA:

Good news is he has an interview

coming up with a firm downtown.

Something solid.

MARIA:

Well, that sounds promising.

The two women kiss and Maria gets into the car.

BARBARA:

You need a lawyer?

MARIA:

Some letters I found in my sister’s

belongings. I need advice from

someone I can trust.

EXT. A LOS ANGELES ROAD. DAY.

RANDY is driving his tired car a little erratically along an

LA road, obviously late. RANDY is in his thirties, eager,

with a rough charm . But there is also something a little

chaotic and immature about him, as if he is still searching

for his centre.

INT. CAR. DAY

Randy has his hands on the steering wheel and is sipping

coffee from a paper cup as he rehearses for the upcoming

interview.

RANDY:

And I really feel that with a firm

like yours..and I really feel, sir,

that with a firm of this

reputation...

His cell phone - very much of the period - rings on the

passenger seat next to him. He picks it up, placing the cup

between his thighs.

RANDY (ON THE PHONE) (CONT’D)

Hello?

BARBARA (O.S.)

Randy, do you remember Maria

Altmann? She has something she

wants to ask you.

RANDY (ON THE PHONE)

Not a good time, Mom, not a good

time. I’ll call you later.

He switches it off, puts it back, and aims for his cup. But

he drops it, pouring steaming coffee on his crotch.

RANDY (CONT’D)

Sh*t!

EXT. BERGEN BROWN SHERMAN OFFICES. DAY.

Randy is racing towards the impressive glass and steel

building that houses the Bergen Brown Sherman Law Firm. He’s

running late, has to weave his way through impressive young

lawyers on their way to work.

INT. ELEVATOR, BERGEN BROWN SHERMAN. DAY.

And in the elevator of the law firm building, he is still

rehearsing under his breath.

RANDY:

I sincerely feel that with a firm

of this standing, no, with a firm

of this calibre..

There’s a high-powered looking lawyer wearing an impressive

suit in the lift - he throws Randy a funny, slightly

supercilious look and then spots the coffee stain on the

crotch.

RANDY.

It’s coffee. Soya cappuccino.

INT. BERGEN BROWN SHERMAN BOARDROOM. DAY

In the impressive glass and steel offices, Randy is now being

interviewed by the partners that make up BERGEN, BROWN and

SHERMAN, all in their sixties. They sit on one side of the

boardroom table and on the other sits Randy, who is

delivering his rehearsed spiel with nervy gusto.

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