A Late Quartet

Decent performances in an otherwise shrug-worthy music-themed melodrama.

A well made, supurbly performed drama, that admittedly is occasionally a little up its own arse, but still contains a strong group dynamic, interesting characters and some wonderful music. The story plods slightly aimlessly in the first two thirds, feeling a little crammed into the last third, but it gathers itself up into something really quite touching by its final scene.

A talented group of actors no doubt. The film however is just trite. Sure the idea is original, but as it unfolds it merely divulges into a conventional love triangle/family drama. One particular scene with Keener and Poots is especially unforgiving. But then like a phoenix rising from the ashes the final scene puts everything in place. A very fitting end to a very uninspired film.

I'm not sure why I don't give it 100, maybe I will in the future. The movie is a true work of art, made with deep awe for the most complex and refined of Beethoven's music, and every scene reflects the same level of care.

I want to like it, but this melodrama hits the wrong notes too often and isn't inventive enough to justify its own existence. It's fine, it's just not the powerhouse that the production is striving for.

A Late Quartet is a well-cast, well-acted, well-written piece that never really transcends its inherent flaw of (arguably accurately) portraying its characters as annoying, self-indulged classical musicians. I wouldn't describe the drama as inherently contrived, but neither is it ever that interesting either. The finale wraps up most of the threads concisely, and as such is the film's redeeming feature. It's more theatrical than it is cinematic, which isn't really to my taste.

There's something trivial about the premise of a chamber drama about a chamber quartet. Indeed, it's very true to type, with familiar character arcs and narrative trajectories surrounding self-interest vis-a-vis collegial and marital loyalty, etc. At least it's careful enough, heedful enough of easy resolutions, and has the cinematographic chops, to allow the virtuoso cast to shine. Israeli Mark Ivanir holds his own impressively next to giants Walken, Hoffman and Keener.

Mature, cultured drama for mature, cultured people. This film set among the musical elites does not take the high concept approach, but once you get used to the deliberate pacing it does start to grow on you. The characters are not a very sympathetic bunch, but end up as well-rounded portraits. The final concert scene felt a bit high-and-mighty, but who knows, maybe that's how people are in those circles. Not really a moving film, but consistently strong and the love affairs spiced things up.

Keener- Symour hoffman forever.

Something something All Things Fall Apart something something about immense pressures between which harmonial perfection riskfully and necessarily operates, its downfall requiring only the slightests of cracks.

Worthwhile exploration of the tensions that arise between the pursuit of art and the stresses of living. There are some poignant moments in the film but ultimately it doesn't quite live up to the premise, mostly because the characters are not given an even share of meaningful drama, and rather more is melodramatic and trivial in the wider context of the subject. In the end, a little slight in comparison to other more introspective films. (cf. Three Colours: Blue, The Beat That My Heart Skipped)

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

Excellent.

Uninteresting, unimaginative story, clumsy, unrealistic dialogue, unearned and unconvincing emotional turns, and massively uneven performances.

A very good film with some absolutely beautiful music.

An extremely well-paced story, superbly acted with a moving score.

Phenomenal film. Great character development

Spent most of its running time wishing I was watching or doing something, anything else.

very good music movie

Usually, if Philip Seymour is in it, it's enough for me to want to watch it. Later I realized Imogen and Christopher were also part of it, and I have even more good reasons to believe this would be a good drama. Gladly I can say it is, and especially for me because I got a little insight of what the dynamic is in a group of musicians. See it from this perspective: having a spouse is tough, we all know that. Now imagine having three, because that's what your mates are. Have fun!

self-note: rating upon first viewing was 64.

Very fine even if the characters are as self-aware as the movie itself.

Compare this to Quartet. Quartet sucks. A Late Quartet rocks.

Excellent film. Excellent performances.

Pretty decent little drama with quality acting, writing and music. Very touching final scene.

such a strong movie, especially for those who ever have been a part of a classical music ensemble...

Parkinson's and a string-quartet are playing up for some melodrama with flawed people and beautiful music; sensitive power-acting from the lead-quartet, especially C.Walken and PS.Hoffman, pull this together - and Imogen.P brings more cowbells. *Preview*: #13#, exp3, story, reviews, cast!

This movie didn't wow me for most of the film. I found myself thinking of other things than actually watching the story unfold. What snapped me back to attention was the final scene of A Late Quartet. When Christopher Walken stops mid-performance and admits he can no longer play... the crowd cheers for him as he says goodbye and then when the rest of the cast plays with their music closed. It was just so beautiful. I actually started tearing up just listening to the beauty of the performance.

A "chamber drama" about the costs of working with others to obtain excellence. The film centers around a string quartet, but the insights could be applied to excellence in others fields as well. The characters and the situations they get into represent the common challenges faced in this pursuit. In some ways, the concept is bit obvious, but the film does a decent job of executing the concept.

Saw this at TIFF. It's a story of a long-enduring quartet who begin to fall apart when their oldest member comes down with Parkinsons disease. All 4 leads give great performances, especially Hoffman whose character does become the most complex. Once the plots thicken, perhaps too much, the film does pick up and there is a very warm satisfying payoff. Not a perfect film but enjoyable and it was nice to learn a thing or two!