In perhaps her most familiar role before winning an Oscar for The Queen, Helen Mirren played the determined police inspector of “Prime Suspect.” In the British mini-series “Painted Lady” (out now on DVD), she is a determined woman working with and outside the law. She plays Maggie Sheridan, a washed-up ‘70s rock singer living in shabby chic retirement on an Irish country manor. When her mentor and landlord, Sir Charles Stafford, is murdered during a break-in, Maggie is determined to track the killers as far as the trail leads. And before long the trail leads almost everywhere.
At first the robbery appears to be an art heist gone bad. Nothing was stolen from the manor but several Caravaggio-era paintings by little known Italians. And while one of those paintings is at the heart of the caper, nothing and no one are as they seem—not even Maggie, who assumes the identity of a Polish aristocrat and art connoisseur to follow the leads into the art market. Her much younger sister, an art historian at a prominent London auction house, aids her in the quest.
“Painted Lady” makes intelligent use of a milieu where the Old Masters meet old school rock. A few false notes are sounded on the way along with a few dubious digressions. Mostly, it’s an intriguing story well cast. Mirren dominates with her sharp intelligence and ability to assume character effortlessly.
