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| STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
| Unmissable |
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| Tragic |
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| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
12A | | Cast
Maggie Smith
Tom Courtenay
Pauline Collins
Billy Connolly. | | Directors
Dustin Hoffman. | | Screenwriters
Ronald Harwood. | | Running Time
99 minutes |
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Quartet
Dustin Hoffman picks up the baton
Plot
Beecham House, a grand country pile where former opera singers live out their retirements, is playing host to a concert in celebration of Verdi's birthday. But the arrival of one of the residents' ex-wife, a diva named Jean (Smith), brings chaos in tow. Review
Ageing opera singers flirt fall out in this genial Dustin Hoffman-directed comedy-drama set in a palatial British retirement home. All is harmonious until famous diva Jean (Maggie Smith) arrives, much to the shock of her former husband, Reginald (Tom Courtenay). Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins provide light laughs, but it’s Smith and Courtenay that bring heart as they hobble towards a potential reconciliation. Quartet is neither as slick nor funny as the recent retiree hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but it’s still a pleasing watch for the Downton Abbey set.
Verdict
A frothy and often charming directorial effort from Hoffman, his first in a Hollywood career that's spanned five decades, that will keep Downton fans happy.
Reviewed by Anna Smith
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Average user rating for Quartet
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| Truly Awful !!! | | Fans of Downton will enjoy this..your having a laugh, which is more than I was enduring this drawn out dross. The demographic in the cinema set the scene, I actually felt like I was in an old folks home watching the bloody thing. If you really want a laugh stay for the credits amongst the endless then and now images and names of operatic legends (I use the term loosely) is Andrew Sachs with 'Fawlty Towers 1975-79' - priceless - best and only laugh I had all night! ... More | | | Posted by rougier at 20:40, 16 January 2013 | Report This Post | |
| | | RE: | | The above review/comment by BurguretBadger sounds extremely fake! First and only post, no personal details, glowing review... hmm. ... More | | Posted by Clingfilm at 19:33, 07 January 2013 | Report This Post | |
| | | A choppy, stilted mess. | | Wow. That second act couldn't drag more if it wore a gold lamé dress, false lashes and started singing Hey Big Spender to a stag party. ... More | | | Posted by TheMightyBlackout at 22:43, 06 January 2013 | Report This Post | |
| | | | A wonderful, comedy-drama set at a palatial British old peoples home dedicated to retired musicians. Cast by the hugely talented Lucy Bevan, this is a triumph for Dustin Hoffman in his directorial debut. A beautiful mix of love and tragedy played by the most talented veterans of stage, screen and orchestra.
All is harmonious until famous diva, Jean (Maggie Smith) arrives, much to the shock of her former husband, Reginald (Tom Courtenay) and former operatic partners played by Billy Connolly and... More | | | Posted by BurguretBadger at 10:30, 01 January 2013 | Report This Post | |
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