Review of A Late Quartet (2012) by Justin V — 12 Feb 2013

My impression of this is very positive. A Late Quartet moves deliberately, but sterling performances all around account for a pleasant result. Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent (as always), and it's nice to see Christopher Walken in a straight role (he's amazing as well). The big question is how the music community will receive this film, since its main storyline runs parallel to one of Beethoven's most-beloved and accomplished works.

Director Yaron Zilberman, in only his second feature, makes known the importance of uniformity and integration of Beethoven's opus and juxtaposes it with the troubles of the film's main players, a quartet of musicians that include Robert (Hoffman), Peter (Walken), Juliette (Keener) and Daniel (Mark Ivanir). This group, professionally known as the Fugue, suffers from personal issues outside of performing arts, and these issues are all related and intertwined. The beauty of A Late Quartet is to see such consternation and disconnect amongst people who make a living playing in unison and without error.

Overall, I was moved by A Late Quartet. Maybe it's due in part to the sheer emotional power of Beethoven's music, maybe it's partly due to the fine acting. But surely, the combination of the two helped me to understand the eery symmetry that music has with life, and vice versa.