Director: Yaron Zilberman
Writers: Yaron Zilberman, Seth Grossman
Starring: Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine
Keener, Mark Ivanir, Imogen Poots, Wallace Shawn, Liraz Charhi
Synopsis: A well-established string quartet begins to suffer some
setbacks after one member is diagnosed with Parkinson’s and the others get
mixed up in love and affairs.
Given the names on the film’s
cast list there’s little chance of A Late
Quartet being badly-acted. Whilst they’re not the best characters each
actor has played, there is a flawless quality to their performance. Christopher
Walken, who in the last ten years has often exaggerated his persona in comedy,
is the star of this film. He isn’t given as much screen-time as the rest – and
not nearly as much drama – but his arc is quietly melancholic which has a much
more profound effect on the film’s emotion. One scene where he reflects on his
life and his losses during a sombre piece of music powerfully reminds you that
he is a deserved Oscar-winner and acting icon.
The three remaining quartet
members are similarly fantastic, given story-lines to eat up in all their critically-acclaimed
glory. You are constantly reminded of the need for cohesion in this type of
group and so watching as they break apart is expectedly dramatic. Whilst
Walken’s character poignantly ponders over his aging and disease, the other
three wrestle with love and control in the ranks of their quartet. It is, as
you imagine, a variety of tearful arguments, physical clashes and loud yelling.
They all know how to deliver these moments with the exact amount of intensity
and prowess, making A Late Quartet
seem like a classic melodrama.
They all handle their characters
wonderfully, making them seem as real as the actors’ practice with their chosen
instruments. Only on occasionally do you see the film slipping into clichéd
territory, and at these points you feel slightly cheated (as if Hollywood
producers felt compelled to bring some familiarity to the floor). The film is a
long, dialogue-heavy meditation on support and collapse but it feels mature in
its ability to do that without too many truisms of the genre.
A deft exploration of
relationships and life, coupled with the interesting focus on a tight quartet
group, makes A Late Quartet very
touching. Its focal point of the quartet and Beethoven’s elaborate Opus 131
will not make it a box-office behemoth, though for its chosen demographic it
will certainly affect and entertain.
****
By Piers McCarthy. Also posted on LiveForFilms
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