Quartet (1981)

Regisseur:

James Ivory

Drehbuchautoren:

Jean Rhys (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay)

Premierendatum:

25. Oktober 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romanze

Plot Keywords:

Male Full Frontal Nudity | Decadence | Ménage À Trois | Concubine | Hotel

Auszeichnungen:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

A serious disappointment

Besetzung

Alan Bates	...	H.J. Heidler
Maggie Smith	...	Lois Heidler
Isabelle Adjani	...	Marya Zelli
Anthony Higgins	...	Stephan Zelli
Pierre Clémenti	...	Théo the Pornographer
Suzanne Flon	...	Mme. Hautchamp
Daniel Mesguich	...	Pierre Schlamovitz
Sheila Gish	...	Anna
Armelia McQueen	...	Night Club Singer
Wiley Wood	...	Cairn
Virginie Thévenet	...	Madmoiselle Chardin
Daniel Chatto	...	Guy
Bernice Stegers	...	Miss Nicholson
Paulita Sedgwick	...	Esther
Sébastien Floche	...	Edouard Hautchamp

Alternativ:

Quartett (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

USA:101 Min

Produktionsland:

UK | France

Sprache:

Englisch | Französisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Altersfreigabe:

UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | Ireland:18

Drehorte:

Paris, France

Firma:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Dies und das:

The book written by Jean Rhys was originally titled "Postures" when it was published in London in 1928 by Chatto and Windus. When the U.S. publishers Simon and Schuster published it in the United States, the name was changed to "Quartet".

Querbezüge:

Ausschnittsweise enthalten in The Wandering Company (1984) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Full Time Lover

A serious disappointment

It's hard to say exactly why "Quartet" fails. There are certainly some good things to be said; Maggie Smith gives her character just the right mix of not-too-subtle cynicism and self-loathing, and the photography by Pierre Lhomme does a fine job of complementing the surroundings. But there is something missing. The Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala trio have always invested their stories with a strong compassion for their characters, lending a quiet urgency to the tone. Yet there is little of that feeling here.

The desperation of Isabelle Adjani's Marya simply does not ring clear, perhaps because her emotions are kept at a distance from the viewer when they should be brought to the forefront of the story. Marya views Heidler (Alan Bates) as a dominating force, but her fears and his intimidation never develop into anything effective. Bates is an actor who can always be depended on to provide a good performance, but his character is not given enough weight to dominate the screen when he should. In films such as `Howards End' and `The Remains of the Day,' the emotional conflicts between the characters drive the story and keep the (attentive) viewer involved; here, the conflicts do not spurn enough interest because the motivations of those involved are not very clear. The overall effect of "Quartet" is very cold and somber, with few, if any, memorable results.