Film

Quartet

Name: Quartet
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2012
Cast: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon

Other titles called Quartet: the 1948 film, the 1981 film.

Social drama

Quartet is a warm, gently funny film about four retired opera singers at a luxury home for musicians, brought together again for their annual Verdi concert. It's a celebration of music, friendship, and second chances, powered by stellar performances from Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, and Billy Connolly. Made for anyone who believes getting older doesn't mean giving up on joy.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love warm, wry ensemble comedies about ageing artists who still bristle with vanity and appetite, and you don't mind a story that trusts small gestures and sharp old-age banter over plot.

Skip it if you want brisk momentum or a clear through-line; this drifts through its rehearsals and gentle rivalries, and its humour leans on familiar, cosy rhythms rather than surprise.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a modest, unhurried ninety-eight minutes, with the mood staying light and bittersweet and your attention rewarded more by faces and exchanges than by incident.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel2012

Like Quartet, it's a ensemble film about aging gracefully with wit and warmth. Excellent ensemble cast, gorgeous locations, and genuine emotional weight beneath the comedy. A perfect double feature.

But The twee factor can be high, and some find the approach to aging demographics a bit patronizing. It occasionally trades authenticity for feel-good sentiment.

A Good Year2006

Russell Crowe rediscovers himself in Provence through wine, friendship, and beauty. Like Quartet, it's unashamedly romantic and interested in the pleasures of later life. Charming without being saccharine.

But It's lightweight and coasts on Mediterranean scenery. Doesn't ask hard questions and some viewers find it forgettable immediately after watching.

Philomena2013

Judi Dench anchors a film about memory, loss, and connection that shares Quartet's emotional intelligence. It's funny and heartbreaking at once, with real depth beneath its accessible surface.

But It deals with religious trauma and institutional abuse, which darkens the tone considerably. The pairing of Dench with Steve Coogan can feel calculated rather than organic.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Quartet

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Stalker1979

Both films are structured around a journey toward a singular moment—a concert, a room—that forces reckoning with what you've become and what you still want. Both are interested in desire deferred.

Andrei Tarkovsky's meditative science-fiction masterpiece about a guide leading two men through a mysterious zone. Like Quartet, it's fundamentally about what we desire and whether we can live with getting it. Hypnotic and profound.

But It's 163 minutes of slow, contemplative filmmaking with minimal plot. Shot in drab Soviet locations, it asks patience most viewers won't give. A test of whether you love cinema as cinema.

Tea with Mussolini1999

Franco Zeffirelli's film about a group of spirited women (led by Maggie Smith and Judi Dench) finding community in fascist Italy. Beautiful cinematography, witty dialogue, and celebrates creativity and resilience.

But The politics can feel glossed over in favour of whimsy. Some scenes lean hard into period-piece cliché and the pacing is occasionally slack.

Driving Miss Daisy1989

Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman's decades-long relationship unfolds with subtlety and grace. It's quietly powerful about how lives intertwine, with moments of real humour breaking through the emotion.

But It can feel stagey and overly sentimental. Some criticize its handling of race, and the story is incremental to the point of stasis for some viewers.

Calendar Girls2003

A true story of village women creating a charity calendar, with Helen Mirren and Julie Walters leading a spirited ensemble. Funny, touching, and celebrates female friendship and agency.

But The tone is relentlessly upbeat, which can feel incongruous given the film deals with loss and mortality. The pacing is uneven and some subplots feel underdeveloped.

The Lady in the Van2015

Maggie Smith again, this time as an eccentric homeless woman who camps on a writer's street for years. Quirky, funny, genuinely strange, with surprising emotional depth and a wonderful performance.

But It's based on a true story some viewers find depressing rather than uplifting. The narrative is deliberately fragmented and can feel scattershot rather than cohesive.

Mamma Mia!2008

Pure joy: ABBA songs, a Greek island, and Meryl Streep leading an ensemble cast through musical numbers. It's unpretentious, exuberant, and genuinely fun. An obvious choice, but for good reason.

But It's not a serious film. If you find ABBA unmovable or resent unironic enthusiasm, this will grate. The plot is thin and the acting occasionally broad.

Ishtar1987

Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as incompetent lounge singers fumble through Morocco. An ambitious comedy that rewards patience with strange humour and real affection for its characters.

But It's genuinely weird and deliberately awkward. Historically expensive and notorious as a flop; many find it aggressively unfunny and indulgent.

A Canterbury Tale1944

Like Quartet, it's built on the idea that strangers can become friends, that music and art are salvation, and that small acts of creation matter profoundly. Both trust enchantment.

Powell and Pressburger's wartime film about four strangers converging on a Kent village, where old magic still hums beneath ordinary life. Formally inventive, funny, and utterly original. British cinema at its most confident and strange.

But It's a period film shot in monochrome with theatrical dialogue and a plot that defies logic. The final act involves a spiritual epiphany that lands as sentimental or incomprehensible depending on your mood.

The Farewell2019

Both find their centre in an older woman (Constance Wu's grandmother; Maggie Smith's Jean) and both understand that aging, aging well, and maintaining dignity while being ridiculous are inseparable. Both love their characters without fixing them.

Lulu Wang's deadpan-funny film about a Chinese family keeping their grandmother's terminal diagnosis secret and gathering for a fake wedding. It's warm without sentimentality, funny without being cruel, and genuinely moving. Refreshingly unsentimental about aging and mortality.

But It requires comfort with cultural specificity and family dynamics that may feel opaque. The humour is gentle and restrained; it doesn't provide the emotional catharsis some want from stories about family.