Weekend and a movie review - Quartet

Mar 03, 2013 11:09

Been a good weekend so far. I like when that happens. Most weekends, especially through the winter, I don't do very much unless Mom and I go out shopping somewhere. Friday was a day off and my cousin came over to help me put the book case together that Mom gave me for my birthday. There's two small bullet like bits missing, not sure what happened as we counted them all and there was the required number. They're the bits that stick in the holes that let you put the adjustable shelves where you want them. I can use something else i'm sure if i can't find them in the carpet or on a side table somewhere.

Yesterday my friend Denise and I went to a movie and lunch. There's a little cafe in a hotel near a retail area, the Redwood Grill and it's quite good. Not an extensive menu and the food is all ordinary stuff like sandwiches, burgers, salads but it's quite tasty. The movie we saw was Quartet and we both really enjoyed it. It's about a retirement home for musicians in England, it looked like it might have been in the Cotswolds, or at least the scene or two shot in the village nearby was similar. The time of year was autumn, with some leaves already off the trees. Some beautiful sunsets. All very symbolic of the later years in life, I think.

Every year there is a musical gala put on by the seniors to raise money to help keep the home open. The planning is underway for this year's gala, organized and directed by the character played by Michael Gambon, late of Dumbledore fame. He's marvellous as the diva-like Cedric (pronounced See-dric don't you know!). He despairs of some of his performers but pulls it all together in the end. Three of the residents were part of a famed quartet of opera singers whose best work has just been re-released on CD, a Verdi piece. Into the home comes Maggie Smith whose character, Jean, is feeling old and defeated, her fame long gone. Turns out her ex husband is living in the home and is not happy to see her at all. She hurt him very much and he's reluctant to accept her apologies so many years later.

Her other friends, played by Pauline Collins and Billy Connolly, talk she and her ex husband (played by Tom Courtenay) into performing the quartet for the gala.

The movie is a gentle ensemble movie. The comedy comes from the lines, the looks, a lot of it from Billy Connolly but not in his usual vigorous manner. They are all people in their 70s and up and experiencing the aches, pains, and illnesses of age, an old age not for sissies, as they say. Pauline Colins' character seems to be experiencing dementia or Alzheimers at times. Billy's character is an old scally wag, flirts with anything in skirts and could charm the birds out of the trees. Tom's character is more reserved, still nursing his pain from all those years ago. Maggie's Jean is coming to terms with age and her confidence is in the toilet, she'd had to end her career due to crippling stage fright that came on as she got older. She get some great lines in as only she can.

A lot of the cast is made up of musicians and actors from very presigious origins, we see this as the end credits roll. I really enjoyed the movie. It might not be for everyone but I would recommend it anyway.

Today my aunt and i will have a little party at my mom's. Her birthday is tomorrow so we've often shared our celebrations over the years.

movies, family, movie reviews

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