It was the cast list that attracted me to this film and really I knew little else about it than this and the title. The plot sees a string quartet struggling with the news that one of them must draw his career to an end as he faces a fight with Parkinson's; this leads to changes, confrontations and challenges within the tight-knit group, their families and acquaintances.
If my very basic plot summary sounds a bit soapy then that is almost certainly because the film has the air about it – it is very much a NYC melodrama featuring the interconnecting relationships of a small group of Manhattan artists. There is illness and questions of mortality, there is a marriage in trouble due to many things which manifest themselves in temptation to affairs, and there are other sexual and professional tensions which bubble over with the slightest bit of help. It is a narrative that really doesn't do much that you don't expect and it is one that plays it out reasonably by the numbers; the classical number throughout gives it an air and edge that perhaps the actual content doesn't deserve but still, it is a decent film that is worth a look.
The reason for that is the same which brought me to the film in the first place – the cast. We have famous names and faces here, but they are famous by virtue of being good – none of the main cast members are celebrities first and actors second. The most pleasingly surprising of them is Walken; I love the guy but he is a walking caricature of himself now, so it is good to not only see him doing a normal role, but to do it so well. He is not really the lead in the film as the lion's share is done by Hoffman and Keener, along with Ivanir making up the foursome. All are strong and it is necessary because their performances and the music is what saves the film from being a much lesser melodrama.
In lesser hands this is what it could have been and, to be honest, even in this film it is a fine line at times. Mostly it works though – not ending up a brilliant film or even close, but a solid and balanced one thanks to the tone and the strong performances by a very able cast.
If my very basic plot summary sounds a bit soapy then that is almost certainly because the film has the air about it – it is very much a NYC melodrama featuring the interconnecting relationships of a small group of Manhattan artists. There is illness and questions of mortality, there is a marriage in trouble due to many things which manifest themselves in temptation to affairs, and there are other sexual and professional tensions which bubble over with the slightest bit of help. It is a narrative that really doesn't do much that you don't expect and it is one that plays it out reasonably by the numbers; the classical number throughout gives it an air and edge that perhaps the actual content doesn't deserve but still, it is a decent film that is worth a look.
The reason for that is the same which brought me to the film in the first place – the cast. We have famous names and faces here, but they are famous by virtue of being good – none of the main cast members are celebrities first and actors second. The most pleasingly surprising of them is Walken; I love the guy but he is a walking caricature of himself now, so it is good to not only see him doing a normal role, but to do it so well. He is not really the lead in the film as the lion's share is done by Hoffman and Keener, along with Ivanir making up the foursome. All are strong and it is necessary because their performances and the music is what saves the film from being a much lesser melodrama.
In lesser hands this is what it could have been and, to be honest, even in this film it is a fine line at times. Mostly it works though – not ending up a brilliant film or even close, but a solid and balanced one thanks to the tone and the strong performances by a very able cast.