One of the most celebrated actors in world cinema, two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, makes his directorial debut at the tender age of 75 with Quartet, the closing night choice of Powell River Film Festival.
The story is set in the fictional Beecham House, a magisterial home for retired musicians somewhere in Britain and named after the famous conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. A group of former opera singers live in uneasy companionship—a faint tendency to crankiness, a touch of senility, the occasional attack of selfishness—given the realities in such a place. Hoffman has populated the residence with a collection of actual retired musicians, notably soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones, who play and sing throughout the film and who co-star in the closing credits with old photographs of themselves, a montage that is strikingly moving.
In the foreground is a grand assortment of scene-stealers; most of this theft is done by the quartet of the title. Billy Connolly is Wilf, a naughty old man of twinkly flirtations and indecent proposals. Tom Courtenay, looking groomed and regal in a stylish scarf, is his friend Reggie, an old tenor of grumpy elegance. Their old boy roughness is softened by Pauline Collins as Cissy, a slightly addled but usually sweet singer who flutters about with her handbag. Their uneasy harmony, in every sense, is tipped when Maggie Smith, as Jean, moves in: a formidable opera star, now fallen on hard times yet divine as a charismatic old tigress who can make one wither with the slightest glance.
Hoffman is clearly crazy about all of them, and he gives them room both to inhale the exotic sounds of classical music, beautifully played and sung by the actual musicians around them, and to indulge the slightly less rarefied tantrums to which they are all prone.
Quartet is one of those movies whose plot swings on a gala concert, in this case a tribute to Giuseppe Verdi that will raise enough money to keep Beecham House in business.
It’s something of a fantasy, of course: the grand home, the witty companionship, the gorgeous music-making, but it’s fantasy of the best kind. Beneath all the playful banter there is a quiet fire, an urge to feel alive again, to use art as a way of raging against the dying of the light. This is a sweet, delightful and moving film and an auspicious debut.
The film screens Saturday 8 pm and again at 11 am on Sunday, February 23 and 24 at Patricia Theatre. The Arts Mosaic at Dwight Hall is open from noon on Saturday, with the reception with appetizers, cash bar and music beginning at 6 pm. People needing wheelchair space are advised to please call the Patricia 604.483.9345 to reserve a space. Tickets are available online, Armitage Mens Wear, Breakwater Books and Coffee and the Patricia. As seating is limited, people are reminded to get their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
