'Quartet' illuminates no matter the age (PHILLY.COM)

STEVEN REA, INQUIRER MOVIE COLUMNIST AND CRITIC
POSTED: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 2:31 PM

'Old age ain't no place for sissies," Bette Davis once famously observed. In Quartet, set in a Georgian-style mansion on a lovely patch of English countryside, the "ain't" has been changed to a more proper "is not." But still, the point is clear: Even here at Beecham House, a stately home for retired musicians, getting old is a challenge.

The body breaks down, and sometimes the mind. And memories of past glory rush back to remind you that there's not much glory happening at present.

Adapted by Ron Harwood from his stage play, and directed - in a smart and accomplished debut - by Dustin Hoffman, Quartet is a charming and poignant investigation into the autumn years in which four friends, former opera company stars, come together to put on a show. Of course, there are obstacles to surmount along the way: Jean Horton (the ever droll and beguiling Maggie Smith), a reluctant new arrival at Beecham House, long ago broke the heart of Reginald Paget (Tom Courtenay), a dapper chap who is not happy to see Jean again.

Meanwhile, the bubbly Cissy (Pauline Collins) is showing signs of Alzheimer's - forgetfulness, disorientation - and the randy Wilf (Billy Connolly) has prostate issues. A hopeless flirt, Wilf's nonstop come-ons to Beecham's female staff, and to the attractive young doctor who runs the place (Sheridan Smith), would be offensive if his lechery weren't so benign. A man with a waggish smile and a Scottish brogue can be forgiven much.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/20130125__Quartet__illuminates_no_matter_the_age.html#ixzz2J7dGkBir 
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Quartet review: Beautiful music Published on Thursday January 17, 2013 (THE STAR)

 From left, Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins are determined to go down singing.

By Linda Barnard

Movies Writer

Starring Pauline Collins, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay and Maggie Smith. Directed by Dustin Hoffman. 98 minutes. Opens Jan. 18 at major theatres. PG

Dustin Hoffman’s directing debut, Quartet is a bit shameless in its approach, but for those who enjoy a whimsical drama that includes scenery chewing from grand dames and hammy fellows, it’s a welcome if often predictable treat.

This gentle comedy about life in Beecham House, a British county home where retired musicians are put out to pasture while refusing to extinguish their creative sparks, is based on Oscar winner (The Pianist) Ronald Harwood’s 1999 play of the same name.

Thanks to Hoffman, it boasts well-crafted dialogue for a cast that’s about as good as it gets when it comes to actors of a certain age: Maggie Smith, fresh from collecting bouquets for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and dispensing brickbats in Downton Abbey, is joined by Tom Courtenay (The Dresser), Scottish funnyman Billy Connolly (Mrs. Brown) and Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine).

Former opera stars Wilf (Connolly), Cissy (Collins) and Reggie (Courtenay) are beavering away with the rest of the musical seniors on the home’s annual gala fundraising concert. When legendary diva Jean Horton (Smith) reluctantly arrives to stay, they think they may be able to reunite what was a London operatic dream team and wow the audience with their famous quartet from Rigoletto.

Fat chance, according to waspish Jean, horribly shamed to have ended up at Beecham House. But her acid tongue deflects from her real fear: she can’t sing like she used to and high notes elude her. She’d flounce off, but her cane makes that difficult.

Sweet and simple Cissy is eager to befriend her again, reminiscing about their years on the opera stage together, but Jean nastily rebuffs her. Reggie, who has a curious history with Jean, is clearly still smarting. Only Wilf, a bottom pincher and public urinator who blames his lapses in decorum on a stroke removing his social filters (don’t you believe it) can seem to sweet-talk Jean, but the effects rarely last.

READ MORE:  http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/article/1316647--quartet-review-beautiful-music

Quartet, review

By Robbie Collin, Chief Film Critic12:43PM GMT 01 Jan 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNYJZbci31c

Dir: Dustin Hoffman; Starring: Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon. 12A cert, 98 min.

Quartet is a lovely old lolloping Labrador of a film. It bounds over to you, eyes bright and tail wagging, and you smilingly allow it curl up on your feet, despite the faint smell of damp fur and digestive biscuits.

This lighthearted drama, savvily adapted by Ronald Harwood from his own 1999 play, marks the directorial debut of Dustin Hoffman, 75, which is as strong an argument as any offered by the film itself for the good work we can still accomplish in our dotage. Hoffman may have won two acting Oscars for his roles in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988), but Quartet has nothing of those films’ high-strung intensity: instead this is the work of Hoffman the twinkly oldster, of Meet The Fockers (2004) and Last Chance Harvey (2008).

Quartet is smarter and better acted than both of those projects, thank goodness. It’s a film about the pressure of performance, centred on four actors who appear to be feeling next-to-none. Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins play inhabitants of Beecham House, a plush retirement castle for classical musicians. (The magnificent Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire, where the film was shot, deserves some kind of best supporting mansion award.)

READ MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9774158/Quartet-review.html

'Quartet' Star Tom Courtenay Refused To Watch Dame Maggie Smith As The Dowager In 'Downton Abbey' (huffington post)

Veteran British actor Tom Courtenay deliberately avoided watching Dame Maggie Smith in 'Downton Abbey' before playing her love interest onscreen because he didn't want to be "put off".

Courtenay puckers up to kiss Smith in their movie 'Quartet', about a group of retired opera singers, and admits he didn't want to see her as feisty character the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the hit TV show before their big moment.

READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/24/quartet-star-tom-courtenay-dowger-downton-abbey-maggie-smith_n_2357746.html

Scots comedy legend Billy Connolly in tears as he accepts BAFTA award

Kevin Bridges and Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly sobbed as he received a Scottish Bafta award last night (10 Dec)

He was presented with a gong for an Outstanding Contribution in Television and Film by stand-up comedian Kevin Bridges. Kevin thanked Billy for being a inspiration to generations of Scots comics and Billy replied: “This is a delightful thing, especially coming from Scotland. “I’ve been nominated for loads of things and got b***** all. I occasionally get these good attendance things, like the guy in remedial class getting a prize for being kind. “Genuinely, to get this from Scotland, I almost say it breaks my heart. It just hits me somewhere where I live.”

As Billy burst into tears, the crowd in Glasgow’s Fruitmarket applauded wildly. He continued: “I don’t know what to do now. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to you. I guess you only get these things once … but could we meet every second week?”

The presentation came at the end of a 90-minute discussion about Billy’s Life In Pictures alongside a few dodgy jokes about thalidomide and the Gorbals. The Big Yin talked about his roles in films such as 1978’s Absolution with Richard Burton and Mrs Brown with Judi Dench. Of Burton, he said: “The funny thing was, I was drunk and he was sober. “They shot the graveyard scene from the back and what you couldn’t see was him singing I Belong to Glasgow. “He was a priest and I showed him where the pocket was in the cassock for his fags.”

Mrs Brown also left a big impression. Billy said: “At one point, I thought that Judi Dench fancied me. She kept giving me the eye in one scene and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ I danced about more and she started doing it again. “It was getting worse and then it dawned on me that she was being Queen Victoria, so I fancied her back.”

Billy admitted he was disappointed to miss out on a Bafta for Mrs Brown – instead it went to Ewan McGregor for Trainspotting. He said: “Ewan beat me with that filth about drugs in Edinburgh – and that language, too. “I hate Ewan for beating me. When you get beaten by somebody you like, it’s worse.

READ MORE: http://scottishactors.blogspot.com/2012/12/billy-connolly-bafta-award.html