Quartet is one of those films that at first looks as if it could have been shown on ITV1, that you half-heartedly waltz into the cinema to watch thinking you're probably not going to enjoy very much. Not because it looks awful, but because it's filled with old people and it's about old stuff and you think, perhaps rightly so, that it's a film aimed at old people so they can look at all the old people in it and say, "These people are old, just like me!" - and you'd be majorly, incredibly, massively wrong. Perhaps the most wrong you've ever been in your life, in fact. It's quite simply an unforgettable picture led by a fantastic cast of the best selection of British actors who've all been pointed and shouted at by Dustin Hoffman - this is the very first movie he's directed and he's done a bloody good job of it! But you're probably wondering how it can be so darn good when it doesn't even feature the smallest of explosions!?
The answer is because its real and funny and sad and that's what life is like - funny and sad and real. It's character driven and not a single moment feels forced or contrived in any way. You're well and truly sucked in. Maggie Smith does her best 'emotional diva' as Jean, Billy Connolly's Wilf provides much of the comic relief but also some of the more heartfelt moments alongside his best bud, Tom Courtenay as Reginald, and Pauline Collins as Cissy is cute, clumsy and forgetful, giving us a glimpse into the tragic ways in which Alzheimer's disease can play havoc with a person's memories. They must come together for the first time to sing, as a Quartet, to help generate the money needed to keep hold of their retirement home, Beecham House. Granted, that sounds like a boring story about old people that, provided you're a rebellious fourteen year old, you wouldn't really fancy wasting an afternoon watching. But - get this - even a rebellious fourteen year old would leave the movie theatre having felt like they've learned something. You can't help but think about where you're going with your life and how you're treating the time you've been given after sitting through Quartet, and it wouldn't have this effect on you if all it did was bleedin' preach. It's witty and you'll giggle just as much as you'll feel yourself almost getting a little bit too upset. And, what's more, it looks splendid. The cinematography manages to keep every shot from looking bland, ensuring the whole experience remains visually gorgeous from start to finish.
 |
| Jean wondered why everybody continued to applaud once she had fallen from the balcony. |
It'll show you that it's never too late in life to remember what you were best at back in the day and then pick up where you left off, and that it's never too late to flirt, to dance, to sing, to cry all over again or to say 'fuck'! It'll serve as a reminder that you too will get old and when you do, you'll look back on your life and think about all the ways in which you messed up, could have messed up or may have messed up without realising. It sticks.
Ultimately, what's at the centre of the story (the four main characters getting together to sing in the big finale) doesn't really matter. Mainly because we never get to see them sing and it fades to black before they kick off, but also because it's more about their journey than the reveal. In much the same way Lost was all about the islanders rather than the polar bears, nuclear bombs, pillars of black smoke and everything else they made up as they went along, Quartet's main concern is getting you emotional over its characters and their little tragedies, relying on you wanting everything to be 'okay in the end', and that's exactly what you'll be hoping. But, is it? There's only one way to find out - get your arse down to the cinema on January 1st, find out once and for all and then shout "Bravo!" at the screen when you see the credits pop up. You most certainly won't regret it.
★★★★☆
Roo