Walken was largely typecast in quirky roles as a result of playing the title character's brother in "Annie Hall," so it's something of a delightful irony that 35 years later, Walken finds his most rewarding role leading a terrific ensemble in what amounts to one of the best Woody Allen movies that Allen wasn't involved in making.
Yaron Zilberman's first feature has a solid structure, but as with a piece of music, the way it's played makes all the difference. His principal actors aren't great at faking their instrumental prowess, but they're perfectly in tune with each other, playing artists who've postponed life's decisions in the name of pursuing their craft.
A Late Quartet is a hidden gem of a film. The script is incredible. The performances are defining for every actor involved. There is not one weak moment on screen, from an actor, a line, or otherwise. A movie about music, art, life, and love, A Late Quartet will hit you right in the feels and leave you reeling for days. This is simply an incredible movie, and a must see fir any movie lover.
One of the best of the year, with possible Oscar nods for Walken Hoffman, Keener and Poots. The story was varied and fascinating and it nicely gave time to each character's struggle. Exciting shots of NYC, great music, and nice work by the cast to make us believe they were really playing.
Measured performances from the seasoned cast balance out a script that errs towards the melodramatic. Hours sweating over those instruments pay dividends too.
A Late Quartet overplays its bass line and loses sight of the melody, making for a movie that is heavy-handed and sluggish. It remains earthbound when it should soar.
The trio (Hoffman/Keener/Walken) give top shelf performances as we've always come to expect from them in A Late Quartet. But it's just too bad that they're in service of Yaron Zilberman's film, which takes the unique focus of a string quartet in Manhattan, and puts it in the middle of a standard and unsatisfying soap opera, that spins off into one subplot too many.
This is a terrific film. It is well-written and directed by one of the screenwriters (Zilberman). The acting is superb, especially by Seymour and Walken. It is a story of relationships, starting with individual needs and desires and strengths and weaknesses, but all held together when they are one in a string quartet. It demonstrates the individuality of four people who are then welded together to produce a great unit producing lovely music. The whole cannot function without the individuals, a microcosm of society in general. The story begins with the deterioration of Walken who is the glue that holds them all together, and then the unit falls further apart only to come together at the end in a great final scene. This film will not receive thenumber of viewers it should, which will be a great loss for those who do not see it, and a great film for those who do.
A rare film, an ensemble cast (nearly every performance stood out in sharp relief) brings the life of a quartet fading into age, ill health, and the convoluted relationships that are the fabric, ruin, and making of people and the intense musical conversations that evolve over decades of making music together. There were standout performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener. This is a small film, yet with a richness that belies it's lack of an adequate advertising budget, and which stands out singularly against the tide of popcorn sequels and violent mush. This film ought to see several oscar nominations, but will likely be overlooked.. See it while you can, it is a dying breed of film, that focuses on quality of portrayal, character development, and an keen honesty that leaves you entertained, and like good poetry... with a razor sharp grasp of the intimate relationships that are the musical world of quartets.
What a wonderful surprise. The performances in this film are so good it beggars belief that no member of the cast garnered any recognition, anywhere. Indeed the film has somehow gone right under the radar. It may be Christopher Walken's best performance in an age; it's so refreshing to see him break at last from lunatic typecasting and bring to life a sensitive musician blanketed in grief and confronting darkness. Hoffman is amazing, along with the whole cast. There are so many richly written scenes in this film, played out by such superb actors, that you can't help be swept up in the turmoil of their relationships. A real achievement.
"A Late Quartet" 10 Scale Rating: 7.0 (Good) ...
The Good: Great cast that does not disappoint. Very powerful performances that make you forget that these are actors and causes you to start thinking that these are real people. Surprised that there was not more Oscar buzz for the cast, to be honest. I didn't have any interest in most f the subject matter, yet the film was able to keep my interest due to the depth of the characters.
The Bad: As expected, can be a little slow at times. Also can come across as a little pretentious.