A Late Quartet (2012)

Members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust.

Director:

Yaron Zilberman

Writers:

Yaron Zilberman (story by), Yaron Zilberman (screenplay by)

Stars:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Keener	...	Juliette Gelbart
Christopher Walken	...	Peter Mitchell
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Robert Gelbart
Mark Ivanir	...	Daniel Lerner
Imogen Poots	...	Alexandra Gelbart
Madhur Jaffrey	...	Dr. Nadir
Liraz Charhi	...	Pilar
Wallace Shawn	...	Gideon Rosen
Pamela Quinn	...	Parkinson's Class Instructor
Brooklyn Parkinson Group	...	Parkinson's Class Participants
Cristian Puig	...	Flamenco Guitarist
Rebeca Tomas	...	Flamenco Dancer
Megan McQuillan	...	Sotheby's Executive
David Redden	...	Auctioneer
Ted Hartley	...	Winning Bidder

Storyline

After a classical string quartet's 25 years of success, Peter, the cellist and oldest member, decides that he must retire when he learns he has Parkinson's Disease. For the others, that announcement proves a catalyst for letting their hidden resentments come to the surface while the married members' daughter has disruptive desires of her own. All this threatens to tear the group apart even as they are famous for playing Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, opus 131, a piece that is played non-stop no matter how life interferes.

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Plot Keywords:

string quartet | cellist | parkinson's disease | violinist | musician | 

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Taglines:

No arrangement is more beautiful...or more complicated.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Catherine Keener said about Christopher Walken's role in the film and the way the other actors related to him: "He is the man. He's 'the dad.' And if dad is cool and feeling good today, we all feel good. We truly hated to disappoint him. We were always happy to see him. We wanted his approval. All of those things."

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Goofs

While the quartet is assembling to practice in the beginning of the movie, Daniel is asked to give a first violinist a listen, Daniel says he will. He looks to Juliette, who agrees that's a good idea. She is shown with her bow at waist height, but in the next shot she is holding it in front of her face.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peter Mitchell: Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present, all time is unredeemable. Or say that the end precedes the beginning, and the end and the beginning were always there before the beginning and after the end. And all is always now.

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Connections

Referenced in After the Storm (2016)

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Soundtracks

Salty Air
Written by Jonathan Dagan
Performed by Jonathan Dagan (as j.viewz)
Courtesy of j.viewz

User Reviews

Excellent performances in a worthwhile little tale about the human condition.

A string quartet playing together for 25 years is faced with the difficult choice of replacing their cello player due to him suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease. The predicament ignites a cascade of crises in which all the old wounds of the past seemed to be ripped open and where some new ones emerge.

The film is a masterclass in the craftsmanship of acting and casting, and succeeds in making a modest story to truly come alive. Seymour Hoffman once again shows his amazing talent as an actor and the other leads never fail to keep up. But it is Christopher Walken who really steals the show in the role of the ailing cello player with a stunningly perfect delivery that puts many performances currently considered for Oscars and what not, to shame.

The current rating for this film is probably the result of the thinness of the story and perhaps the silliness that occasionally accompanies it. Nonetheless, The film is certainly worthwhile despite the obvious little flaws in the story.

73/100

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2012 (Canada)

Also Known As:

A Late Quartet

Filming Locations:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$75,279, 4 November 2012

Gross USA:

$1,562,548

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,303,709

Company Credits

Production Co:

Opening Night Productions, Concept Entertainment, Unison Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1