A Late Quartet

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Ethan T A mediocre, at times good film that could have been great. I felt that the script was formulated with great care for the music. The musical sequences are wonderful (contrasting to the usual horrific ones we see all too often where the actors clearly haven't been given any instruction), and the film felt as if it were written by and for musicians... for the most part. I do wish that the film had remained about the music, as the original storyline concerning an aging cellist struggling with Parkinson's was by far the strongest. As the film progresses, though, it becomes a melodrama built upon the backdrop of these professional classical musicians, rather than a preferred inversion that would have improved the experience for me. Let's keep with the positives. Christopher Walken was excellent, playing a sane man and a voice of reason to the growing drama around him. Hoffman performs with a reliable commitment. I thought that his desire for love, affection, and acceptance manifested into his dealings with other characters in an intelligent form. Keener and Ivanir do alright for themselves, but the story falls apart when the focus falls from Walken. The infidelity plotline involving Keener and Hoffman's marriage seemed serviceable as long as it didn't take center stage, but the romance between Ivanir and Poots was nonsensical and deserves a more full dissection. I could not stand Poots's character. At first I thought it might be her accent feeling unnatural, as a Brit playing an American. Then, I thought that perhaps her unnuanced, careless, boring performance as a snarky teenager was the problem. Eventually, I just realised that her character was written with none of the nuance, motivation, or path that I desired. She's simply just there. Every time we see her on the screen is time wasted. Who cares at all about her simply creepy romance with a man who has been part of a string quartet with her parents before she was born. We have no real buildup to the relationship; we are just supposed to lap up the drama like any soap opera fan on the hunt for brainless entertainment. The film's resolution was nothing of the sort. We have no idea of the termination of the conflicts between Daniel and Robert or Robert and Jules. You could stick any of the main four together and have no sense of where the character arcs in relation to one another completed. This is not a problem when it adds depth to the film to allow the viewer to assume for themselves and rejoice in creative freedom, but here it felt lazy. We are forced to spend more time on the melodrama away from Walken than with the music, but the film begins and ends with this music. Does this mean that we should not care about the characters, and only the music? Clearly not, because far too many of the conflicts could take place with any profession, characters, or settings. This film could have been so much more. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/09/21 Full Review Audience Member Too many films, including this messy love quintet, having to do with Beethoven's music mistake his manic depressive pathos for a melodramatic soap opera. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Moving and brilliant. Whoever coached the actors on fake-playing their instruments deserves an award. If you liked the movie, check out Beethoven's other string quartets. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Sublime music and a cathartic climax. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful, moving with some great performances. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/11/23 Full Review Audience Member This film was solid. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Late Quartet

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