The Same Only Different

Two movies with much in common: “Amour,” and “Quartet.” Both are about aging musicians who centered their lives on their careers. Both contain remarkable performances; and both are beautifully directed. But there similarities end. “Quartet” takes place at Beecham House, a cozily elegant English retirement home for aging musicians modeled on Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, the musicians’ retirement home outside Milan founded by Giuseppe Verdi and his wife. Fittingly, the movie centers on Beecham’s annual fundraising concert held on Verdi’s birthday. First-time director Dustin Hoffman, 75, assembled an accomplished cast of fellow septuagenarians — Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins and the amazing Maggie Smith all portraying retired opera singers, supported by real-life aging singers and musicians — and left them mostly alone. He frames shots of Beecham House (in reality Hedsor House) and its grounds beautifully and moves the action at just the right steady, retirement-home pace. The story centers on plans for a fundraising concert organized by Cedric (Michael Gambon in a loud, fey performance). He realizes that he has the four stars of a famous production and recording of “Rigoletto,” and wants them to end the concert with its great quartet, “Bella figlia dell’amore.” Jean (Smith) wants no part of the plan, especially since her ex-husband, Reg (Courtney), has suggested it to her. Spacey Cissy (Collins), who knows she is entering early dementia, tries to Continued from previous pagecoax Jean, while the baritone Wilf (Connolly, giving his character a hint of good natured lechery) bucks up Reg. Hoffman breaks up his story with delightful performances from “The Mikado” and even the jazz world. But it is the four principals, alone in the world except for each other, who resolve their differences and do what they love to do, perform, with people they love to do it with. If the story is not as involving as “Marigold Hotel,” it is in Hoffman’s hands a delight and a joy, a bright but small jewel. Oh, to grow old this way. “Amour,” is neither joyful nor delightful. It is a great film that confronts aging, decline, illness and pain within the boundaries of shared careers and devotion that are bulwarks against the outside world. Anne (Emmanuelle Riva)and Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) are content with each other, with their music (they are retired teachers) and their civilized routines and companionship. They have a daughter but see her seldom. They read, listen to music, go to concerts and move confidently through the many rooms of their comfortable apartment. They are a single unit. Their world begins to disintegrate when Anne suffers a minor stroke and is then paralyzed on one side after botched surgery. Georges promises Anne he will never send her to a “home,” and their agonizing downward slide begins. With more strokes, Anne becomes increasingly enfeebled, less able to communicate. Georges ignores advice from their daughter (played by Isabelle Huppert) and obsessively cares for Anne as he himself grows more feeble. We begin to realize he has no one to call on, no network of friends and associates. He will do what he has to do until the end, and he will do it alone. This dystopian view is not surprising from director Michael Haneke, whose rigorous formalism and intellectualism has in past films such as “The White Ribbon” and “The Piano Teacher” come across with a pronounced sense of superiority. The usual ambiguity in Haneke’s work is here, too: He has often criticized American films as too morally detailed, leaving little to the imagination. In “Amour,” however, he seems to have adopted a humanistic, empathetic approach, perhaps in response to the agonized humanity of his remarkable actors. Trintignant and Riva were both beautiful romantic actors in their past films. But now, almost voyeuristically, we watch their aged faces and slow movements and wonder when our time will come. Haneke has made a gorgeous movie that poses moral questions, moves us deeply, leaves us confounded. Like Anne and especially Georges, we must find the answers on our own. “Amour,” is rated PG-13 for mature material and language, and “Quartet,” is rated R for language and sexuality. Both films, are playing in area theaters or are scheduled to open soon.