Golda's Balcony (2007)

Director:

Jeremy Kagan

Writer:

William Gibson (writer)

Genre:

Biography

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

Valerie Harper

...

Golda Meir

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

East-West Ventures

It Should Have Been Valerie's Oscar!

If the film was done right, Valerie Harper would be an Academy Award Nominee and probably the favorite for her role as Golda Meir, Israel's Prime Minister. She had performed the play with the same title in the National Tour while Tovah Feldshuh played her on Broadway and in New York City. Sadly, this film adaptation is just a taped version of the play itself since there were no changes made to the script. As a writer myself, I understand the writer's reasoning but I think the film would have gone much farther if Valerie Harper had a cast of supporting players and they had allowed her to breathe life in a legendary although controversial female leader. The filming with clips shown and Harper performing Meir alone on screen is not enough to gather an audience. For the theatre, the one woman ninety minute show was appropriate but for the film, the techniques do not do justice in emphasizing Meir's role in the world. While I understand the author's motives, I will respect his right to maintain the play as written but I do believe Harper was robbed of a chance at an Oscar herself for the role.