Get us in your inbox

Quartet

  • Film
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Quartet.jpg
Advertising

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars
If the point-blank treatment of old age and mortality in this year’s French arthouse hit ‘Amour’ makes you nervous, here’s the cuddly British version – with songs. ‘Quartet’ has been adapted by screenwriter Ronald Harwood (‘The Pianist’) from his own 1999 play, and essentially it’s a country-house, putting-on-a-play drama. Only the house is a care home for retired actors and singers, and the stumbling blocks to first-night glory are the side-effects of ageing. The gentle conundrum is whether four residents of Beecham House – Jean (Maggie Smith, pictured left), Wilf (Billy Connolly), Cissy (Pauline Collins, pictured right) and Reggie (Tom Courtenay) – will overcome their problems to perform the quartet from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’ at a benefit gig for their home. It’s a light, fruity film – complete with Michael Gambon flitting around in a silk dressing gown and fez. Dustin Hoffman, directing for the first time, draws endearing performances from his cast, and a host of supporting actors played by singers and musicians grounds its more farcical and rarefied elements in white-haired reality.
Written by Dave Calhoun

Release Details

  • Rated:12A
  • Release date:Friday 4 January 2013
  • Duration:98 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Dustin Hoffman
  • Cast:
    • Maggie Smith
    • Billy Connolly
    • Michael Gambon
Advertising
You may also like
You may also like