"A Late Quartet" looks at music as a metaphor for people's lives. The subject is a group of musicians: two violinists (Mark Ivanir and Philip Seymour Hoffman), a viola player (Catherine Keener) and a cellist (Christopher Walken). When the cellist finds that he is developing Parkinson's and probably won't be able to play for much longer, a series of things begin to happen which have a profound effect on the foursome.
While the movie make substantive use of classical music - Beethoven, Hayden, Bach, etc. - there's also a sense of how the music effects the characters' egos. The first violinist really comes across as a jerk in some scenes. Not that the other characters are much better. Some scenes grow REALLY intense.
It turns out to be a very interesting little movie. The collection of classical string quartets and suites to set the stage for what eventually must come to pass represents an insightful look at the role that music plays in our lives. Good support comes from cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey and "My Dinner with Andre" co-star Wallace Shawn (also of "The Princess Bride" and "Toy Story").
We can only speculate on the direction that Hoffman's career would've taken had he not died.
While the movie make substantive use of classical music - Beethoven, Hayden, Bach, etc. - there's also a sense of how the music effects the characters' egos. The first violinist really comes across as a jerk in some scenes. Not that the other characters are much better. Some scenes grow REALLY intense.
It turns out to be a very interesting little movie. The collection of classical string quartets and suites to set the stage for what eventually must come to pass represents an insightful look at the role that music plays in our lives. Good support comes from cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey and "My Dinner with Andre" co-star Wallace Shawn (also of "The Princess Bride" and "Toy Story").
We can only speculate on the direction that Hoffman's career would've taken had he not died.