Quartet [M]

Beecham House serves as a home for gifted and retired musicians, amongst them Reg, Wilf, and Cissy: retired opera singers whom have all worked together over the years. Amongst their operatic hits, their recording of Rigoletto is very prominent amongst opera buffs as the Rigoletto of the after-war era. They live in relative peace, which is turned around when Jean Horton, ex-wife of Reg, comes to live at the House. At first Reg is furious but then when financial problems threaten closure of the House, he seeks to reconcile with Jean and reunite the four of them to perform the quartet from Rigoletto at the annual gala in celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday. But Jean resists on the grounds that she is not as she once was and it takes a fair amount of pokes and prods to get her to realise that “old age is not for sissies.” 

The directorial debut of Dustin Hoffman, Quartet is a beautiful English comedy much in league with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The humour is subtle, the characters are beautiful, and the romance is so natural. This is a real gem. 

Beecham House serves as a home for gifted and retired musicians, amongst them Reg, Wilf, and Cissy: retired opera singers whom have all worked together over the years. Amongst their operatic hits, their recording of Rigoletto is very prominent amongst opera buffs as the Rigoletto of the after-war era. They live in relative peace, which is turned around when Jean Horton, ex-wife of Reg, comes to live at the House. At first Reg is furious but then when financial problems threaten closure of the House, he seeks to reconcile with Jean and reunite the four of them to perform the quartet from Rigoletto at the annual gala in celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday. But Jean resists on the grounds that she is not as she once was and it takes a fair amount of pokes and prods to get her to realise that “old age is not for sissies.” 

What is particularly lovely about this movie is that its cast features many musicians and opera singers from the post-war era: an homage of which occurs with the rolling of the end credits. I thought that was particularly lovely as it means that much of the opera and beautiful music that takes place throughout the film is genuine. It’s lovely. 

Our central quartet were all beautiful together with Maggie Smith being the benevolent and beautiful dame that she is, Tom Courtenay was vulnerable and charmingly grumpy, Pauline Collins was bubbly and fluttering, and Billy Connolly was very funny with this cheeky charm and somewhat inappropriate wit. They were all gorgeous. 

Starring Michael Gambon, Sheridan Smith, Andrew Sachs, Trevor Peacock, David Ryall, and Michael Byrne, Quartet was a lovely little film filled with memorable performances, comedy, drama, romance, and backed by a beautiful and classical soundtrack. It really shone.