This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 25, 2013 - "Old age," observed Charles de Gaulle, "is a shipwreck." On the contrary, suggests the sweet-spirited British film "Quartet," growing old is a slow if erratic cruise into a warm sunset. At least, it can be.
Like 2011's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Quartet" is saved from drowning in golden-years sentimentality by an excellent and at times acerbic script, plus a sterling British cast. And like "Marigold Hotel' -- and for that matter the irresistible "Downton Abbey" -- "Quartet" benefits in particular from a delightful performance by Maggie Smith, the reigning queen of the tart remark, just loud enough to be heard -- and felt.
Smith plays a celebrated opera singer named Jean Horton. As the movie begins, she is closing up her home in London and moving to Beecham House, a bucolic country estate that has been turned into a home for retired singers and musicians.
The home, loosely based by writer Ronald Harwood on a similar establishment in Italy that was founded (and funded) by Giuseppe Verdi, offers a more-than-comfortable way of life for its residents, and is continually having to raise money by, among other means, staging musical benefits. Jean Horton's arrival at the home inspires the notion that a lot of money could be made by reuniting Jean with three fine singers from her past, and turning them loose in a gala performance of the quartet from Verdi's "Rigoletto.” But she resists, fearful that her voice is not up to the task.
The other three singers, all former stars now resident at Beecham House, are Jean's dour former husband, Reggie (Tom Courtenay); antic Wilf (Billy Connolly), an eternal ladies man; and chatty Cissy (Pauline Collins), who, one suspects, was scatter-brained even before age made her forgetful. Connolly is a particular delight, as he flirts with the female staff of the home without quite passing over the line to being a dirty old man. (Younger readers, male or female, might disagree with this judgment.)
We learn that many years before, at the height of her youthful fame, Jean left Reggie for a champagne-fueled fling with a rakish Italian, and Reggie has never forgiven her. So the plot is set in motion. Will Jean and Reggie get back together, making up for what Jean realized was a terrible mistake days after she made it? And will the foursome sing Verdi's quartet at the gala fundraiser?
Along the way to a satisfying denouement, we hear some wonderful music, not the least of which comes from a real diva who first performed in public more than 50 years ago -- the ageless Dame Gwyneth Jones. She plays Jean's arch rival Anne Langley, and her singing threatens to lift the roof off of Beecham House.
The film was directed by septuagenarian Dustin Hoffman. It is his first feature as a director, and he surely benefitted from the assistance of two well-seasoned British film veterans: cinematographer John de Borman and editor Barney Pilling. The two recently collaborated on the fine "An Education."
The film is gorgeous, lit in an autumnal glow, and achieves the graceful fluidity of classic British dress-up cinema. True, there are more than a few touches of sentimentality, but the acting, the witty script, the glorious vistas and the beautiful music make "Quartet" a delight. And the best part comes at the end -- be sure to stick around for the credits, when we learn just who all those old folks living in Beecham House really are.
Opens Friday Jan. 25
Harper Barnes reviews movies for the Beacon.
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