In "Quartet," it is Paris, 1927, and Marya's(Isabelle Adjani) husband, Stephan(Anthony Higgins), an art dealer, has just been sentenced to a year of jail and expulsion from France for theft, leaving her with no visible means of support.(Marya had once tried to be a showgirl but it did not work out.) A wealthy couple
of English art patrons, Lois(Maggie Smith) and H.J.(Alan Bates), offer to take her in, even though Lois knows so little about her. But H.J. knows her well enough to put his hand on her knee...Marya agrees even though she is warned by a friend about a possible scandal involving them. "Quartet" is not a bad movie and much less polite than the usual Merchant Ivory production. There is even a bit of bite in this tale of expatriates in Paris, all taking from the city but giving nothing in return. Lois and H.J. act like they are slumming but are wealthy enough to exploit the city for their own purposes. Stephan is selling French art treasures to collectors abroad. And Marya is at their mercy. So, you can see, there are definitely elements of an intriguing and provocative movie in place but it never quite comes together due to a lack of boldness, along with pedestrian directing and editing.
March 5, 2008
