20141029: Drama Review--Quartet

Quartet

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. British live action feature length film, 2012, rated R, 98 minutes, drama, comedy.
2. IMDB: 6.8/10.0 from 12,105 audience ratings. Estimated budget, 11 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 79% on the meter; 66% liked it from 10,808 audience ratings.
4. I saw this on The Movie Channel.
5. Directed by Dustin Hoffman, written by Ronald Harwood.
6. Starring: Maggie Smith as Jean Horton, Billy Connolly as Wilf Bond, Tom Courtenay as Reginald Paget, Pauline Collins as Cissy Robson, Michael Gambon as Cedric Livingston, Sheridan Smith as Dr Lucy Cogan.


2. Setup and Plot
1. All the action takes place at Beecham House, a home for retired musicians.  Cedric holds court there.  His obsessions are keeping Beecham House in the black, and upholding the reputation of British opera.  Verdi's birthday, every October 10th, is an annual opportunity to feed both obsessions; the House holds a gala on that day, and tickets are sold.  The retired musicians perform a variety of pieces during the event.


2. The narrative of the film concerns the preparation of one such gala.  Some weeks before, Jean moves into Beecham House.  She has some difficulty with entering the social life since she's very aware of her own past glory.  Sigh.  Also, she used to be married to Reginald, who has been waiting for her to come back into his life.


3. A good chunk of the film concerns the effort to get Jean to re-create the quartet singing from Rigoletto with Reginald, Cissy, and Wilf, as they had done years before.  At the same time, Reginald and Jean get to know each other again.


4. Will it all come together in the end?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Retired opera singers recreate a quartet piece from 40 years previous.
2. Eight of ten


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent. Beecham House and its grounds were shot beautifully.


2. Sound: 10/10 Excellent, with several fine pieces performed.


3. Acting: 10/10 Excellent.  The actors listed above were all in top form.  Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly had me in stitches.  Tom Courtenay and Maggie Smith were excellent on the dramatic side, and Pauline Collins' portrayal of a talented person losing her memory was quite touching.  Tom Courtenay's dialog with a young black lad about the difference between opera and rap was superb.


4. Screenplay: 6/10 Predictable, start to finish.  On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman's intelligence, wit, and deft touch are clear throughout.  Many of the one-liners are brilliant.  The overall tone of the film is sweet, lovely, rich, and sad.