Quartet

I had high hopes of this film. An impeccable cast and as a 60+ myself, an uplifting ensemble piece. Sadly, this was not to be. I have rarely seen a film so "non-directed" with everyone except Maggie Smith floundering around. Sadly, we see in Hoffman a decent actor who tries to direct but should just use his money to hire a decent director. Billy Connelly had me squirming in my seat as he was unable as usual to play any part other than himself. His corny lines and stupid sexual references made the older members of the audience giggle with embarrassment probably because they sympathised with him as he too hoped this turgid film would come to an end. The cast gave off the appearance of doing it for some more retirement money and as such were going through the motions. Cinematography was adequate craft level. We have in the UK some astonishingly good young directors so why on earth use a washed-up American - other than to get their hands on his money? To sum up, glad when it ended. A thoroughly depressing mediocre film. So, sadly, most people will love it

This is a very polarizing film. Not altogether in a negative sense but if you're not heavily into classical music or opera, it might be hard to relate to these characters, a group of elderly people in a retirement home for retired musicians. Throughout a very crowded house of crooning and/or instrument playing old timers, the first fifteen minutes consists of Billy Connelly's sexually motivated Wilf Bond flirting with every female, spouting the best dialog because everyone else has little to nothing to say. That includes Tom Courtenay's Reginald Paget, who only comes to life after his ex wife Jean Horton, a former opera star played by Maggie Smith, becomes a resident. The second half of film's description is very misleading: "...The annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva." For one thing, Jean is hardly a diva. That would have been humorously edgy and interesting. She's actually quite mellow and introverted. Her only fault is stalking Paget on the grounds, but only because he wants nothing to do with her but they eventually connect and talk about the past. It's difficult to relate to who they were since we never get to know them in the present. And eventually the plot's underway: one of the residents wants the quartet, including the three characters mentioned and Pauline Collins as the ever-optimistic Cissy, to reunite. Horton (Smith) angrily balks until it's decided to proceed, after which the show goes on with somewhat predictable results. First time director Dustin Hoffman does effectively wield creative shots in the gorgeous English exterior, but on the inside there's little story to make the characters as worthwhile as they music they dedicated their lives to.

It's rare these days, in my opinion, to get a combination on superb acting, impeccable writing, and sensitive direction, all adding up to a superlative movie. However, that's what I found here. Dustin Hoffman, the great actor, makes ostensibly his directorial debut here and is hugely successful. The veteran writer, Ronald Harwood, adds the wonderful screenplay, based on his own play. The lead actors namely, Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, and Pauline Collins are all at the top of their game here. They're all retired famous opera singers, forced by circumstances, to now make the Beecham House, or Home for Retired Musicians, their new home. They once sang together, as a Quartet, namely in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece "Rigoletto", many years before. The retirement home is now facing severe financial woes and if their upcoming annual gala is not a success, they could be forced to close. Can the Quartet overcome their interpersonal resentments of the past and their problems with aging to help the gala be a lifesaver? I might mention that Michaqel Gambon, in a supporting role, as the Director of the upcoming gala adds very well to the mix, as does Sheridan Smith as the residence doctor and manager. I, not being an opera or classical music buff, had no idea that many of the residents of the home, who performed at the gala, were actually famous singers and musicians of the past. I thought the singing and classical music that interwove with the movie was exceptional. In summary, I found the film to be quite exceptional and memorable.

I'm sure this is a good film for the right audience -- by that I mean people who liked the set-piece bitchiness of Gosford Park, the long-playing social relationships of Downton Abbey, the humour of old folk forgetting things, or the nostalgia of opera. For such folk, my comments below can be safely ignored. But if you don't like any of the above, you may find (as I did) that the senility was over-acted for supposedly comic effect; the emphasis on characters over plot made the film drag; and some of the plot ideas were telegraphed so far in advance, they could have used pigeon post and it would still have arrived in time. I can't even tell you if it had a happy ending as I didn't make it to the end of the film, though it looked like most of the tensions were going to be reconciled while one key character suffered an emotion-jerking exit. If you want a film where old people are not either incredibly wise or suffering from comic levels of senility, I recommend The Bucket List.