A Late Quartet

source: A Late Quartet

This was, for me, a wonderfully SATISFYING movie--I enjoyed seeing it, talking about it, remembering seeing it. I think some critics have inadvertently played it false, suggesting that it is about the music; it's not. It's about the quartet and the people in it: the crises they face and the compromises they make. In short, it's a drama. One critic above says 'the film's biggest flaw is that the four individuals are so indulged in a reality that this string quartet is the most important thing in the world, that the movie-goer is often left asking why is it so important.' OK, so that's not really English, but you get the idea. That reviewer is apparently unfamiliar with what is, after all, a fairly arcane phenomenon, the long-lived classical string quartet. Not everybody (OK, hardly anybody) has heard of the great quartets, even though several have been international stars for 50 years: the Budapest, I Solistic di Zagreb, the Borodin, the Guarneri. They're not Top of the Charts and never were; they don't play to Springsteen/Streisand-size audiences; they perform in concert halls not ballparks. But the movie makes clear that this group has been together for a quarter-century and is beloved, admired and world famous: nuff said. And it is obvious from the script that the quartet is their life's work and greatest achievement, and because it is also a shelter against their personal troubles, its members are as desperate to protect it as they are to protect themselves. It's all they have. Another critic above seems to think it impossible that a professional musician would forget his valuable instrument in a taxi. Well, for as long as I can remember that has been reported in NYC newspapers about once every five years or so. If you doubt my word, Google 'Stradivarius left in taxi'. (Oddly, the Strad seems to be the world's most famous AND forgotten violin). Another plus: Imogen Poots. The name alone makes me swoon.

A member of a long-lived and famous string quartet announces that he will have to leave the quartet due to illness. This movie details the effect this has on the members of the quartet and their families, friends, and lovers. This will probably play to a niche audience, which is unfortunate since it touches on topics of general interest that transcend the story specifics. The main theme concerns the delicate balance that exists in order to sustain any long term relationship. Things move toward melodrama as we follow what happens to these people, but I found most of what takes place believable--whenever a key element is removed from a stable group, people go a little crazy until the wound is healed. Long standing resentments can surface as people reexamine their lives. If you have ever been a member of any close relationship, whether a marriage or a team at work, or whatever, and the organizing dynamic changes, then you will be able to identify with what happens in this movie. Another theme deals with how the demands of a career as a professional performer can be exacting. There is a particularly searing scene between the woman member of the quartet and her daughter where the daughter (also a musician) accuses the mother of neglect. As is usually the case in such arguments, both parties come away wounded. The actors turn in performances that raise this above the average. I was impressed that the cast did a credible job of playing their instruments. The practice it must have taken to reach that level of skill indicates to me that they were committed. It was good to see Christopher Walken in a straight dramatic role; it was also a treat to see Wallace Shawn essentially reprise his role in "My Dinner with Andre," again at a dinner table, in a scene that lasted but a couple of minutes. As an added treat, Anne Sofie von Otter is on hand to sing a brief aria. An appreciation of classical music undoubtedly adds to the enjoyment of this, but is by no means a requirement. There is only one extended musical segment, from one of Beethoven's late quartets, and most of that is played over the end credits. Seeing this encouraged me to revisit listening to all of the Beethoven late quartets. This should appeal to a wider audience than I'm afraid will give it a go. The excellent 1983 movie, "The Basileus Quartet," that echoes many of the themes in this movie, seems to have dropped off the map. Coming away from these movies will likely leave you with a feeling that, whatever your situation, whatever your current passions, they will come to an end, and ultimately so will you.

This is easily the most pretentious movie of the year. Not one character is believable. How can anyone relate to this artsy fartsy pablum? Most people in the real world deal with these problems on a daily basis but don't have their stories dramatized. But since it's an elitist type deal, the hoity toity crowd, it gets high ratings on IMDb. Only dooches relate to this film, most likely the worst of the decade, due to how awfully snobby it is. If I had my way, I'd send 'The Sons of Anarchy' in to break this pupu up. Now that would be a great film. These snooty tooty people getting their behinds kicked by a biker gang. You add Jason Statham to the mix and you've gotta a good film...as long as he's drinking a Schlitz tall boy at the beginning of every scene.

Flawed. Actually, very flawed. It really needed AT LEAST two more rewrites. It knows where it wants to go, but it certainly didn't do a good job of getting there. And it could have been really good. The idea is terrific. I'll bet the studio and producers rushed it into production and onto the screen. (Or maybe they're just not very good) Philip Seymour Hoffman scores again! Another on screen love scene with a beautiful actress. How does he get these parts? He and Christopher Walken were great even in this near mess. Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir (unknown to me) were good, but not great. Imogen Poots is sooo aptly named. Her acting is nothing but poots. It really stinks. As actors, she and the guy she becomes involved with had NO chemistry, and as characters, their becoming involved was totally unconvincing and contrived. Shame on this director. One pitfall of this kind of movie is having actors who don't play stringed instruments plays SO MUCH on screen. A minor cavil, perhaps, and maybe not noticed by "the average viewer, but watching non-violinist actors faking it has always bothered me; and this is a QUARTET!

I am a music educator and have been playing the violin for over 25 years; the viola for 12 years. I knew from the moment I saw the trailer for this movie it was going to be lame and boy was I right. It was, as it always is, PAINFUL to watch these actors pretend to play their instruments, the plot was lame and so was their acting. The battle over who plays first or second violin is just pathetic. I know many professional quartets who often rotate their players. The only good part of the film was hearing one of my professors name being mentioned halfway through. I want a refund from my cable company for my on demand purchase. This was downright terrible. Do yourselves a favor and skip this film.

I was expecting "A Late Quartet" to rely on heady themes of classical musical. Before going into it, I did at least learn some of the emotions that are involved in Beethoven's Opus 131, and interestingly, that was probably enough. I still believe that music fans will get a lot out of it, but it's meant for fans of relationship dramas where the slightest word or indiscretion can do a number on the players' psyches. The quartet is made up of cellist Peter (Christopher Walken), first violinist Daniel (Mark Ivanir), second violinist Robert (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Juliette (Catherine Keener) on the viola. Peter has just developed Parkinson's disease and is contemplating leaving the quartet. He's the oldest and the de-facto/emotional leader of the group and he's the only one that seems to have matured past the maturity level of a teenager. That's an insult to the other characters, but it works to the benefit of the film. Daniel as the first violinist is the musical leader. They look to him for which direction their quartet should go musically. Which leaves us with Robert and Juliette, a married couple. Robert has the ego of a leader and Juliette has the determination of a leader. Their emotional instability is set to wreak havoc on the success of the quartet as well as on the life of their daughter Alexandra (Imogen Poots). There are affairs aplenty, passive aggressive snideness, violent outbursts of rage, and so many questionable decisions – on everybody's part. Daniel may be the leader, but depending where your sympathies lie he might also be the worst offender. Above all else, "A Late Quartet" is an actor's film. Powerhouse performances from Hoffman and Ivanir; a fantastic powerful and sympathetic performance by Poots; and an emotionally strong performance by Keener. And somehow Walken fit in nicely in the more subtle and low- key role. Hoffman is funny when Robert's being passive aggressive, scary when he's mad, sympathetic when he's clueless, and incites our rage/passion when he's in the right. Keener manages to invoke the exact opposite responses through those emotions while Daniel walks the thin line between evil and sympathetic through all of his insidious and, at times, kindhearted moves. To like this film you will need to be able to get invested in all the relationship dynamics going on. But if you're a fan of any of the five principal actors, that should be pretty easy. I'm in love with Philip Seymour Hoffman and while I didn't think it was possible to top his career best performance in "The Master" (2012), he just may have done that here.

I seem to have a week spot in my head for movies dealing with the life and music of Ludwig Van Beethoven (not, I would hasten to add, for movies starring St. Bernard's dogs). If nothing else, I will say that you are pretty much assured of having a good soundtrack. Not having learned my lesson from the transcendent piffle of such films as "immortal Beloved" and that one with Ed Harris playing Beethoven, the name of which escapes me at the moment, I got sucked into this rather silly film. What this movie does well; Christopher Walken. He gives the film any of the weight it has, from reading from T.S. Eliot, to giving a cracking (and plausible) anecdote about Pablo Casals. He inhabits the part of a master musician coming to terms with the end of his playing career with a quiet gravitas; his eyes do most of the work. Also, the other members of the quintet play their roles as musicians quite well: the driven first violinist, Mark Ivanir, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing a man quite literally fed up with being second fiddle, and Catherine Keener, as the violist with emotional ties to all three of her fellow members. And I have to say that Imogene Poots (a name even P.G. Wodehouse would have fought shy of using in any of his writings) doesn't disgrace herself in a rather thankless role, as the daughter of Hoffman and Keener's character who inevitably has an affair with Ivanir's character. Where the film falls down is in the plot. It's not so much that the plot veers into melodrama, and from melodrama into farce; Beethoven's own life, after all, was redolent of both farce and melodrama. The problem is that all the melodramatic and farcical elements are so blatantly telegraphed. We see them all coming a mile off. A more damning problem I had with the film (after all, I do enjoy both farce and melodrama, in good cause), was the absurd use of Angelo Badalamenti's score to heighten the melodrama. I mean, here you have four very good actors, all perfectly capable of conveying emotion through their craft. The movie hinges on a performance of Beethoven's Opus 131, arguably the most sublime composition ever; why not use that for a score? I made it a point to sit through the final credits to the end, just to hear the end of the quartet. It might well have been the best part of the movie.

Mark Ivanir (first violin), Philip Seymour Hoffman (second violin), Catherine Keener (viola), and Christopher Walken (cello) make up the highly successful string quartet The Fugue. Walken, who had just lost his wife a year before, develops certain physical symptoms which are diagnosed as onset Parkinson's. He quickly understands what this may mean to his illustrious concert career. However, his desire to step aside after one more concert opens up a whole Pandora's Box of interpersonal relations, within the group, that have apparently been simmering for a long time. These conflicts threaten to destroy the quartet, who have performed over 3,000 concerts together around the world. For example, Hoffman now wants to alternate between the first and second violin chair. Ivanir and Keener, who is Hoffman's wife in the movie, had a relationship prior to Keener marrying Hoffman. They "conspire" behind Hoffman's back and try and discourage him from pursuing this. This leads to a big blow-up between Hoffman and Keener and a one night stand with a flamenco dancer that Hoffman is caught at. Additionally, Hoffman and Keener's daughter, portrayed by the seductive actress Imogen Poots, begins a relationship with the much older Ivanir. This could be the final straw for the quartet's survival. Will it survive? I'll not spoil it for the viewers. My main problem with the film, despite its' top notch cast, is in the script, which was co-written by Yaron Zilberman and Seth Grossman. The Israeli Zilberman, in his first major motion picture, also directed the movie. To me the script got too contrived and melodramatic. The actors were saying their dialogue but I was not able to emotionally attach to the characters, which was disappointing. The classical music, actually performed by the famed Brentano String Quartet, was of course first rate. The cellist of this group, Nina Lee, actually appeared briefly towards the very end of the film.

A Late Quartet is a beautiful film in so many ways - what is has to say about music and aging, about the pure satisfaction of devoting oneself to an academic, intellectual life - and the sheer effort required to be great at anything, let alone great at a classical instrument is sincere and rings true. Morevover, the acting from the ensemble and the cinematography are exemplary. I loved this film in so many ways - but while conflict is necessary for any plot, here the multiple conflicts end up feeling a little improbable and manufactured and I just could not quite accept it all as one package. Having said that this was still one of the most enjoyable dramas I've seen in a while - it's a great topic with a great cast (and a great soundtrack) and well worth your time if you're in the mood for something more thoughtful.