A Late Quartet

Along with several others (see comments), I found the dialogue difficult to follow. I must say this problem seems to be getting worse — as we get older we lose some hearing, mainly in the higher frequencies, and this makes dialogue especially hard to follow.

But there's another factor at play here — modern directors, in their pursuit of authenticity, encourage actors to mumble and don't point the camera at them when they're speaking. We definitely don't get the same clarity of diction we used to get with Olivier and his ilk.

I was interested to read  this article on the BBC News site — Quirke screenwriter admits using subtitles — in which Andrew Davies, the screenwriter of Quirke, admitted to watching at home with the subtitles on so his wife could read the dialogue. The BBC got shoals of complaints from people unable to hear the words. In this link — Quirke draws complaints over sound — Richard Madeley is quoted on Twitter "Was REALLY looking forward to Quirke... but despite winding volume up to 100% still can't hear at least a third of dialogue!"

The complaints were even worse for this programme — Jamaica Inn: Viewers complain over 'mumbling actors' — some interesting quotes here. And the problem has filtered up the BBC's Director General — here's another link which includes a fascinating insight into "Authentic Frontier Gibberish" —  Mumbling TV actors: The heart of the mutter.

I find myself using the subtitles more often these days. Perhaps we should play DVD's at Wakefield Film Society with subtitles? We could rename ourselves "Movies for Wakefield Grumpies".

The acoustics at Saint Austin's are not ideal for films but I have to say the chaps there have gone out of their way to make us welcome this year — and have  spent a lot of time and effort optimising their sound system for speech.

I enjoyed the film but was a bit puzzled as to why the beautiful young women fell for the old guys. I suppose the Imogen Poots character admired Daniel because he was her teacher — and we all know girls get crushes on their teachers — but why did that ravishing Spanish foot-stomper fall for Philip Seymour Hoffman just because she met him running round the park? This attraction young women feel for hairy old men is something beyond my experience. Unfortunately.

Audience feedback rating was 70%:

A
A	Excellent performances from all the cast. Glorious setting of a snowy New York
A	A film for grown-ups
A	Think I'll take up violin!
A
B	Poor sound reproduction spoiled an other wise excellent film.
B	Very sensitive portrayal of relationships in a family and a musical ensemble. Good acting throughout
B	Sound too poor! What a shame...
B	Diction fuzzy at times. Music great!
B	TOOK A WHILE TO GET INTO IT, BUT THE CHARACTERS DEVELOPED INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY — A GREAT INSIGHT INTO A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER AND SOMEHOW LOSE THEIR INDIVIDUALITY
B
B	Loved the music. Not convinced by some of the relationships. Philip S-H's performance was excellent. Christopher W good too.
B
B
B	Enjoyed it — but there were a lot of switches of tone:— from a quite serious film — to a Woody Allen farce with the lovers hiding from mother! — to a Rom-com!! There were quite a few plot holes!
B	Emotive film — sound quality poor to begin — or was it me?
B	High class melodrama. Many interesting themes, not very original but beautifully acted.
B
B	Lovely music (naturally!) An unusual role magnificently played by Christopher Walken.
C	Slow going story
C	Spoiled by sound quality!!
C	Good film, excellent music … but quality of sound, diction was poor.
C	Sadly I could not follow most of the dialogue. It was probably a very good film had I been able to understand what was being said.
C
C	Good if a bit slow — looked lovely.
D
E	Appreciation of excellent performances spoilt by poor sound quality.
E	Might have been a great film but entirely spoilt because of the sound.
E	I found the dialogue difficult to follow and the story tedious — sorry!!
E	Sound quality appalling. Spoilt the film.

On-line:

"a heartfelt, intelligent, unassumingly well-constructed picture" Peter Bradshaw, Guardian, 4 stars

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/apr/04/late-quartet-review

"High-quality movies aimed at grown-ups remain rarities — and this is one of the best" Chris Tookey, Mail, 4 stars:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2304223/A-Late-Quartet-movie-review-Marvellous-maestros.html

"it's only baroque'n'roll (but I like it)" Anthony Quinn, The Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-a-late-quartet--its-only-baroquenroll-but-i-like-it-8560615.html

IMDB 7.1/10:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226240/

Rotten Tomatoes 70% audience rating:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_late_quartet/