Quartet (Maggie Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

We usually watch a film on DVD about once a week, and as we don’t have any new ones at present, we are currently re-watching films we haven’t seen for six or seven years (or more). We saw the film ‘Quartet’ in 2013, and I had entirely forgotten the storyline, so it was a good choice for yesterday evening’s viewing. 

We seem to be seeing a lot of films with elderly actors. It only occurred to me yesterday that there are so many of them because as actors grow older they don’t necessarily want to retire, but to continue working.

This film features a care home for retired musicians. As we learned in one of the extras, most of the minor characters in the home are actually musicians, not actors. Dustin Hoffman directed, and wanted them to be themselves, not trying to play parts.

Having said that, the four members of the quartet which gives its name to the film are well-known actors: Maggie Smith as Jean is really the main character, although she’s not yet at the care home at the start of the film. Tom Courtenay is Reggie, quite an academic and an expert on opera who gives lectures to teenagers on music appreciation. Billy Connolly as Wilf is the third member of the quartet, and Pauline Collins as Cissy is the fourth. Each of them is very different: Wilf is outspoken, full of innuendoes and humour; Cissy is clearly approaching some form of dementia that comes and goes.

Two other important people in the film are Cedric (Michael Gambon) who likes to take credit for organising everything that goes on, and Dr Cogan (Sheridan Smith) who runs the home as well as being the medical advisor. And they’re all wonderful - the pace is good, the music excellent and while there’s not a whole lot of story, there was definitely enough to keep my attention focussed.

There’s humour, mostly from Wilf who likes to flirt with all the women, particularly the doctor, but also in the timing and interactions of others of the cast, particularly an elderly duo, one of whom (Trevor Peacock) I recognised from ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. There are also some quite moving sections.; When Jean arrives at the home, she’s surrounded by admirers; she was once quite a star, although she insists she no longer sings. But Reggie is very upset that she’s there, and it quickly becomes clear that they were once married, although it didn’t last. The way they gradually get to know each other in their old age is beautifully done.

Most of the story, such as it is, features the lead-up to the annual fund-raising gala concert, and attempts to persuade Jean to sing. It all feels quite believable, and I felt quite engrossed - though even as I watched, I didn’t recall much of what happened. Possibly because there isn’t all that much plot.

The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) which seems fair. There’s no nudity or anything explicit, but a lot of innuendoes, and a few instances of ‘strong’ language. There’s no violence, but there are some very poignant scenes involving Cissy, which could potentially be disturbing. I can’t imagine that a film about people in their seventies and eighties would appeal to anyone below the age of about fifteen anyway.

We both enjoyed the film very much, and watched some of the extras: behind the scenes commentaries, and some outtakes. There are also some deleted scenes although we didn’t see them all.

You can find other reviews, more information and a brief trailer at the IMDb site: Quartet.

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