It’s hard to believe that 74-year-old Dustin Hoffman has only now gotten around to directing a feature film. The prolific actor probably watched Warren Beatty lose his goddamn mind on Dick Tracy and thought he could stand putting it off for a few more years.
Quartet is an interesting project for Hoffman to approach, as nothing about this trailer screams it was made by Tootsie. For an actor so ingrained in the DNA of “Old Hollywood,” he seems to have embraced the “old” and left “Hollywood” behind for a quirky British romp. This retirement-home comedy has a fine Hogwarts-approved cast in the form of Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay, and Michael Gambon. Quartet is without a US release date at this time, but premiers in the UK on January 4th, 2013. Synopsis after the trailer:
Lifelong friends Wilf and Reggie, together with former colleague Cissy, are residents of Beecham House, a home for retired opera singers. Every year on Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday, the residents unite to give a concert to raise funds for their home. But when Jean Horton, a former grande dame of the opera fallen on hard times, also Reggie’s ex-wife and the fourth and most celebrated member of their former quartet, moves into the home to everyone’s surprise, the plans for this year’s concert start to unravel.
As old grudges threaten to undermine past glories and theatrical temperaments play havoc with the rehearsal schedule, it becomes apparent that having four of the finest singers in English operatic history under one roof offers no guarantee that the show will go on.
Source: The Playlist