REVIEW: This 1981 Maggie Smith movie is worth revisiting
Image courtesy of Cohen Film Collection / Provided by press rep with permission.
The Merchant Ivory classic Quartet, which was originally released in 1981, is now available on Blu-ray from Cohen Film Collection. The film stars a stellar cast, including Isabelle Adjani, who won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, plus Maggie Smith, Alan Bates and Anthony Higgins — all in fine form.
Adjani plays the character of Marya, who is facing an uncertain future after her husband, Stefan (Higgins), is arrested in 1920s Paris in a heist deal gone bad (there are some sordid details about him procuring Napoleon’s sword). Marya’s world is turned upside down overnight, and this leads her to accept the friendship and financial support of a married British couple (Bates and Smith) who are living the high-end life of fine dining and finer art. What Marya doesn’t realize is that befriending this man and woman comes at a great cost.
Quartet is another gem from the minds of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the powerhouse cinematic team that created some of the best cinema of the past 50 years. Although the movie is not as well known as their other films, this romantic drama is every bit as worthy for a modern-day revisit.
The performances are wonderful, in particular Adjani, who holds much of the film together with her bravura take on the Marya role. She is conflicted about her relationship with Stefan, especially when their encounters are reduced to phone conversations at the jailhouse. She’s even more conflicted by the constant seducing of Bates’ character, and taking advice from Smith’s character proves to be neither advisable nor helpful. This leaves Adjani’s Marya alone and heartbroken, yearning to live a fulfilling life in an exciting city with a buzzing cultural scene, but she’s trapped in a relational tempest that offers few evacuation routes.
The writing from Jhabvala, based on the novel by Jean Rhys, is top-notch, with a meandering plot that features believable and biting conversations amongst the main characters, followed by mattress talk that is manipulative, revealing and ultimately saddening. As the back of the Blu-ray case suggests, the dynamic between Marya and this couple is both twisted and complicated, which makes the story endlessly interesting and somewhat distressing.
Smith, who was a world-famous actor in the 1980s and has only grown in prestige and popularity over the years, offers a commanding performance as a painter who knows more than she lets on and who keeps her husband and his lover close and under a watchful eye. It’s great fun to watch how Smith’s character operates, in particular in the early light-hearted scenes, like when she’s ordering food and drinks at one of the many restaurants they frequent in Paris.
The visuals of the film are most enjoyable, with a real sense of time travel to the Golden Age of the 1920s, from the opening shot of a lonely car making its way down a darkened street in the capital city to the swinging and tune-filled nightlife that keeps this “quartet” (or “trio” at least) dancing and boozing until the early hours.
Quartet is a fascinating film, filled with romance, drama, deception, manipulation and central performances that command attention.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Quartet (1981). Directed by James Ivory. Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Starring Isabelle Adjani, Alan Bates, Maggie Smith and Anthony Higgins. Running time: 101 minutes. Rated R. Now available on Blu-ray from Cohen Film Collection. Click here for more information. Rating: 
