Quartet
1981
Director James Ivory brings the bohemian Paris neighbourhood of Montparnasse in the 1920s to life in this film based on the novel by Jean Rhys. Isabelle Adjani stars as Marya Zelli, a beautiful young wife who finds herself destitute after her art dealer husband is sent to prison for theft. A rich patron, H.J. Heidler (Alan .. Read more
| Starring | Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjani, Anthony Higgins |
|---|---|
| Director | James Ivory |
| Genres | Drama |
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Quartet
Director James Ivory brings the bohemian Paris neighbourhood of Montparnasse in the 1920s to life in this film based on the novel by Jean Rhys. Isabelle Adjani stars as Marya Zelli, a beautiful young wife who finds herself destitute after her art dealer husband is sent to prison for theft. A rich patron, H.J. Heidler (Alan Bates), and his painter wife, Lois (Maggie Smith), offer to take Marya in. Heidler, a womanising ogre with a history of taking advantage of helpless young women, soon seduces Marya while Lois painfully accepts his philandering ways. Rhys based her novel on her own experiences as a young woman in Paris after her husband was sent to jail. The writer Ford Madox Ford, who promised to help the young novelist with her writing, befriended Rhys. He and his artist wife, Stella, took her in and Rhys became Ford's lover. However, as QUARTET reveals, there was no easy resolution to Rhys's or Marya's predicament.
| Starring | Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjani, Anthony Higgins, Daniel Chatto, Pierre Clementi |
|---|---|
| Director | James Ivory |
| Studio | ODYSSEY VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 36 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 24 Nov 2003 Production year: 1981 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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Based on the novel by Jean Rhys, this is a typically classy piece of film-making from director James Ivory. In 1920s Paris, Isabelle Adjani takes refuge with married couple Alan Bates and Maggie Smith after her husband (Anthony Higgins) is jailed. She eventually submits to the advances of Bates at the expense of his rather sad bullied wife, as the film explores with subtlety an upper-class lifestyle beset with moral corruption. It was sadly not as successful or lauded as Ivory's later EM Forster adaptations, A Room with a View and Howards End, but it's worth a look nevertheless.
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Slow-moving, good-looking study of characters in a milieu; as usual with films from this stable, it has nothing to please the majority.
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Most helpful member's review
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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Quartet
Despite the brilliant cast this film to me stayed in the mediocre bracket.
I expected more -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
worth a look for Merchant Ivory fans
a little slow but with some wonderful performances from Maggie and Isabel (who is rather lovely to watch aswell).
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