A Late Quartet
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Release Date: November 2, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostLou LumenickNov 1, 2012
Walken was largely typecast in quirky roles as a result of playing the title character's brother in "Annie Hall," so it's something of a delightful irony that 35 years later, Walken finds his most rewarding role leading a terrific ensemble in what amounts to one of the best Woody Allen movies that Allen wasn't involved in making. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 31, 2012
A Late Quartet does one of the most interesting things any film can do. It shows how skilled professionals work. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanNov 15, 2012
Despite too stately a pace at times, and some fairly predictable plot resolutions, the film succeeds thanks to empathetic performances (from Walken and especially Hoffman) and an evident affection for the music and musicians it depicts. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 14, 2012
How many surprises and peaks can Walken possibly have left, after so many movies and memorable roles? Well, there's this one. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnNov 1, 2012
Leave it to Walken to upstage Beethoven. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsOct 31, 2012
Yaron Zilberman's first feature has a solid structure, but as with a piece of music, the way it's played makes all the difference. His principal actors aren't great at faking their instrumental prowess, but they're perfectly in tune with each other, playing artists who've postponed life's decisions in the name of pursuing their craft. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithMar 25, 2013
The leads make sweet music in an affecting four-piece that, if not note perfect, plays well to their individual strengths. A marked improvement overall on this year’s other Quartet. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyNov 29, 2012
The screenplay by Seth Grossman and Israeli-American director Yaron Zilberman is old-fashioned and melodramatic but stirring in its portrait of people struggling with individual egos to produce something nobler than themselves. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 1, 2012
For those willing to enter this world and pay attention, A Late Quartet provides distinct and uncommon satisfactions. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumNov 1, 2012
The title refers not only to particular music by Beethoven but also to the fictional string quartet of Yaron Zilberman's fussily genteel, overplotted Manhattan tale in which interpersonal stresses build to a crescendo when one of the foursome becomes ill. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 1, 2012
Grace notes abound in A Late Quartet, a small, shining gem of a movie that works its way into your heart with insinuating potency of music. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 4, 2012
I was happy watching these actors, happy going behind the scenes of a sober classical music ensemble instead of another druggy rock group, happy hearing Beethoven for a couple of hours. The movie is haut-bourgeois to the bone, but so am I: Let's hear some chamber music and have a little laugh and a cry! Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenNov 1, 2012
It would be shortsighted to dismiss this deeply felt, musically savvy film, set in a refined cultural precinct of Manhattan, as sudsy melodrama. Read full review
70
NPRElla TaylorNov 1, 2012
It's rare these days to see an old-fashioned, elegant chamber-piece movie about life and art - let alone one with Christopher Walken as, of all things, a steadying influence. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichael NordineNov 1, 2012
It's something of a relief that little is actually resolved in A Late Quartet; Zilberman is at his best when leaving narrative threads hanging rather than trying to tie them together. Read full review
70
TimeMary PolsNov 1, 2012
A Late Quartet serves as an acting showcase, particularly for Walken and Hoffman, and makes for an interesting study in artistic ego. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangSep 11, 2012
Centered around four outstanding performances, Yaron Zilberman's fiction-feature debut feels like the work of a filmmaker who knows and appreciates the art form under scrutiny, laying a credible foundation for a story that lays bare the often melodramatic passions of the artistic soul. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 2, 2012
Zilberman's conceit is that these players, who mesh so beautifully in their music-making, are discordant in their personal lives. Those lives are constructed for maximum messiness, turning what might have been resonant drama into high-class soap opera. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 1, 2012
The performances are worth a look, especially since Christopher Walken so rarely gets to play a sane person. Read full review
63
ObserverRex ReedOct 30, 2012
Playing the cello is such a pleasant change of pace that he (Walken) eventually grows on you, scene by scene, proving for the first time since his role as Leonardo DiCaprio's troubled father 10 years ago in "Catch Me If You Can," that he really can act. He - along with the rest of the elegant cast - keeps A Late Quartet in tune when it threatens to go flat. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoApr 1, 2013
Measured performances from the seasoned cast balance out a script that errs towards the melodramatic. Hours sweating over those instruments pay dividends too. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottDec 14, 2012
The sort of movie you should go see with someone you love. You should also hold their hand during the movie. And be thankful that that hand is there. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyNov 1, 2012
Zilberman's minimalistic approach fits the idea of the film better than it fits the actual film. It leaves this melancholy mood piece with some beautiful moments, but unlike Beethoven's work, A Late Quartet ultimately feels unfinished. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichOct 31, 2012
The four leads more often than not transcend the material's calculated moroseness; Ivanir is especially good as a man whose perfectionist facade masks a soul in perpetual turmoil. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerSep 11, 2012
The film mines both the relationship issues and the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Woody Allen's best work, but could use an added dose of the Woodster's jokes to spruce up a self-serious scenario that hits the right notes about half the time. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenNov 14, 2012
A Late Quartet overplays its bass line and loses sight of the melody, making for a movie that is heavy-handed and sluggish. It remains earthbound when it should soar. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 12, 2012
Yes, A Late Quartet is disappointing. But it's also pretty bad. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleNov 9, 2012
Watching A Late Quartet feels more like sitting through a Classical Music 101 lecture than entertainment. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineNick McCarthyOct 31, 2012
A muted soap opera masquerading as erudite ensemble piece, Yaron Zilberman's A Late Quartet jettisons character plausibility in favor of pop psychology and leaden instrument analogies. Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid DenbyOct 27, 2012
The scenes of the musicians rehearsing or talking about music, with the actors playing parts of Opus 131 themselves (the longer stretches are played by the Brentano Quartet), are fascinating and moving for anyone who loves this music; the rest of the movie is conventional. Read full review
50
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthSep 11, 2012
The trio (Hoffman/Keener/Walken) give top shelf performances as we've always come to expect from them in A Late Quartet. But it's just too bad that they're in service of Yaron Zilberman's film, which takes the unique focus of a string quartet in Manhattan, and puts it in the middle of a standard and unsatisfying soap opera, that spins off into one subplot too many. Read full review
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