Helen Mirren: Starring in ‘Golda’ like playing British monarch – Times of India

“Golda,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Monday, focuses on Meir’s leadership during the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states in October 1973.
“It’s not a biopic, it’s not her whole life, it’s just a little section where she’s most challenged,” said Mirren.

That year, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 6, during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, threatening to overwhelm the country. Israel launched a massive counter-offensive before a ceasefire took hold.

Mirren is nearly unrecognizable as Meir thanks to prosthetics and a make-up regimen that took hours, re-creating the Israeli leader’s nicotine-stained fingers and swollen ankles.

Over the course of the movie, the chain-smoking leader, who is also secretly being treated for lymphoma, is increasingly laden with grief as the gravity of Israel’s losses weighs on her, something that director Guy Nattiv had wanted to highlight.

“As an Israeli, I grew up with this knowledge that Golda is a complicated character,” said Nattiv, adding that he hoped his movie would help Israelis see Meir as a real flesh and blood person.

Nattiv also explained his decision to cast Mirren even though she is not Jewish, saying that besides being an excellent actor, she felt like a family member. “For me, other than the fact that I adore Helen … I just found her very authentic.”

Israel’s Guy Nattiv told reporters at the Berlin film festival ahead of the movie’s world premiere that it took only one conversation with Mirren to convince him she was “authentic” enough to play the iconic political leader.

“When I met Helen I felt like I’m meeting a family member,” he said, saying he had been “surprised” by the uproar.

“She’s got the Jewish chops to portray Golda. She totally got everything, every nook and cranny, everything in this character. Other than the fact that I adore Helen, I think she’s one of the best actresses in the world.”