QuartetMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 64 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 OK for kids 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch |

    They have the perfect supporting cast, made up of a group of exceptional real-life musicians: retired members of orchestras and opera companies, and a pianist bristling with the suppressed impatience of the longtime accompanist. (To see who they are, stick around for the credits.) Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Quartet is buoyed by the Scottish charm of Billy Connolly, as a lovable flirt and extrovert - he is a delight and also a locus of truth in every scene he's in. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The actors are world-class charmers, and the magnificent Dame Maggie is the diva divine. Her wit still stings, as it does on "Downton Abbey." Read full review

  • 75
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    And that, in the end, is what Quartet is about: determined engagement, embracing music and theater and the arts, and embracing the friends and loved ones you have around you. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Dustin Hoffman, a 75-year-old first-time feature director better known as a great old acting pro, conducts at a pleasant tempo. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Quartet is endearing, sometimes even irresistible. Read full review

  • 70
    NPR | Ella Taylor

    Personally, I'd show up for Maggie Smith's top-drawer basilisk stare if she were guesting on "Sesame Street." Read full review

  • 70
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    It's a privilege to watch peerless actors at the peak of their powers. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Quartet is a sweet-tempered, rather fuddly drama about retired opera singers, and compared to a slick crowd-pleaser like "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," with whom it shares a star and a sentimentalized view of old age, it's a mess. Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Music lovers will appreciate both the score and the nostalgic end credits, which revisit the early years of the aged supporting cast (many of whom were actual musicians). Read full review

View more reviews for Quartet on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 13+ Charming comedy about elderly opera singers fine for teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Quartet focuses on a retirement home for former opera singers and other professional musicians. With its older characters and mature themes, the movie isn't that likely to appeal to younger audiences, but if they're willing, there's nothing really inappropriate in it, save for a couple of uses of "f--k" and some suggestive humor (though no actual kissing or sex). A great choice for grandparents, parents, and teens to watch together, Quartet explores mature issues such as aging, fading talent, seeking forgiveness, and the importance of being passionate about the arts.
  • Families can talk about how Quartet depicts retired artists. Why does Jean say it would be a dishonor to her former self to sing again? Do you think older musicians should stop performing just because their voices might not sound the same or they can't hit high notes the same way?
  • Reggie has an educational conversation about opera being similar to rap; what is the filmmaker trying to say about various musical styles?
  • Why are there so few movies and TV shows that feature older characters? Teens: Does a movie's appeal to you depend on the age of its cast/characters? Why?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Not only will Quartet expose younger audiences to a musical style they might not be familiar with (opera/classical), but it will also make viewers of all ages think about what it must be like for renowned talents to age and for people to be passionate about the music they love. There are also themes of redemption, forgiveness, and true friendship. 
  • rolemodels true4 Positive role models: Wilf, Reggie, and Cissy are all fabulous friends who are unconditionally devoted to each other. Dr. Cogan seems to genuinely love her job, and she doesn't treat the seniors in her care as "charges" or "burdens." She's respectful to everyone and even lets Wilf's advances down amiably, not with any rancor or disgust. Jean shows how someone can ask for and receive forgiveness for past wrongdoings and move past their own narcissism to do what's best for someone else.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Jean throws flowers and pushes Cissy, who subsequently falls and injures herself. An elderly man is shown being wheeled out on a stretcher.
  • sex false2 Sexy stuff: Wilf -- who's called a "naughty, naughty man" -- makes suggestive comments about the Beecham House's female staff members, particularly the beautiful head doctor. He jokes about an older man being like aged wine and "seasoned wood." Other sexual jokes are made using musical terminology. Two young staffers are caught in the woods, presumably fooling around, but when they surface, all disheveled, they claim they "weren't doing anything."
  • language false3 Language: Two notable uses of "f--k." Other swear words include: "bitch," "twat," "t-ts," "sodding," "arse," "hell," "damn it, "bloody," "oh my God," and "for God's sake."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false1 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The "quartet" goes out to dinner and has a lot of wine to drink.
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