Quartet (2012, dir. Dustin Hoffman) ***/****

Quartet is Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut and being the fine actor he is, we can expect a movie with interesting characters and good performances.  We get that from Quartet.  It takes place in a retirement home for musicians.  This allows for a great soundtrack and interesting diegetic musical renditions.  It is really Hoffman's elegy to aging and the elderly.  He is getting old himself so it is not a surprise that he deals with old age and retirement in such a noble, warm-hearted, and affectionate way.  There is a theme of carpe diem throughout as well as the idea of getting a second chance in life no matter how old you may be.  It stresses the importance of friendship, love, and kindness.  There is an interesting scene where one of the old characters is lecturing a visiting group of youngster on opera.  The differences and similarities between rap music and opera is brought about in a clever and original way.  The main plot of the film revolves around four characters who decide to reunite and perform a quartet at the annual concert that the retirement home puts on.  Maggie Smith's character is reluctant at first to do this and this allows for interesting character development and interactions.  Billy Connolly is fantastic as an old man with a youthful, sly and wise-cracking disposition.  The performances are fantastic and the story is compelling.  I don't think younger audience members will enjoy this as much as older ones as thematically it is not their area of interest and it has a somewhat slow, leisurely pace.  It is a good ensemble, character-driven film.