SONG FOR MARION

An affectionate, bitter-sweet comedy-drama in which grumpy Arthur (Terence Stamp) – from a generation that tended to internalise rather than express deep emotion  – reluctantly agrees to step in and help out in his wife Marion’s (Vanessa Redgrave) unconventional local choir when her fading health means she can’t continue.  But, under the watchful eye of Gemma Arterton’s choir coach, a strange transformation takes place. It forces Arthur, albeit reluctantly, into taking a journey of self-discovery, facing his fears of losing his wife and building bridges with his estranged son (Christopher Eccleston).

Peter Bradshaw says in the Guardian:

“Paul Andrew Williams is a director associated with edgy and challenging movies, one of which, the gritty London to Brighton, was one of the best British films of the last decade. But now, just to show versatility, he has created a likable, mainstream and commercial heartwarmer about old people in a choir. It’s a movie in the key of C major – perhaps inspired by Stephen Walker’s 2007 documentary about the Young@Heart chorus of eightysomethings in the US who cover rock standards. This is a sweet-natured, charming, if modestly conceived picture, which is much better than Dustin Hoffman’s recent oldie-song drama Quartet – more relaxed, more persuasive, and it actually delivers the all-important musical climax that Hoffman somehow managed to omit. Terence Stamp plays Arthur, the grumpy old husband of Marion, played by Vanessa Redgrave, whose joy in life is singing in a local seniors’ choir called OAPz, run by music teacher Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). Curmudgeonly Arthur resents the way the choir has endowed Marion with an independent life and vitality, but soon he must come to terms with what music has given her – and what she has given him.”