Painted Lady

We watched this on the strength of Helen Mirren being in it, and her performance, as usual, was outstanding. She’s a washed-up folk singer, used to be famous, now she’s staying in the guest cottage of a wealthy friend. The friend is murdered, and a very expensive painting is taken. She sets out into the art scene to find out what really happened, and to avenge her friend. The plot is complex and I’m not sure I understood it all, but it didn’t make a great deal of difference. I enjoyed it. It seems there are some scenes that are posed to imitate famous paintings. The only one I spotted was the Death of Marat, with the famous and tortured French revolutionary dead in his bathtub. If you know more art than I do, you’ll probably see more.