Song for Marion (2013)

Truly Dreadful Film

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Don't go looking for originality in Paul Andrew Williams's film. The plot recycles a familiar thematic chestnut: a curmudgeonly pensioner Arthur (Terence Stamp) resents his wife Marion's (Vanessa Redgrave's) participation in a pensioners' choir, especially as she is dying from cancer. When she passes away, Arthur shuts himself away from everyone, but with the encouragement of choir-master Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton), he rediscovers his ability to sing. The choir make it through to the finals of a competition, but they are about to be excluded on the grounds of being a laughing-stock compared to the other, more sophisticated entrants. Arthur makes a last-minute entrance, strides on to the stage, sings a song accompanied by the choir, and they end up finishing third.More recent variations on this story have included ONE CHANCE, the story of BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT winner Paul Potts with James Corden (2014). In Williams's film the two protagonists don't have to do much other than provide contrasting characterizations: the perpetually scowling Stamp set against the more optimistically inclined Marion. There is one memorable sequence where she refuses to talk to him unless he accedes to her wishes.What makes the film touching is the way in which Williams handles his subject-matter. He does not shy away from the idea that cancer is a killer; however much we like to pretend otherwise, Marion's death is imminent. Having one's partner cruelly taken away after years of happy marriage is traumatic, as it proves for Arthur - especially as he cannot seem to get on with his son James (Christopher Eccleston). A group of OAPs in a choir singing Motorhead might seem incongruous, but the experience gives them a renewed belief in life.The film makes some telling visual contrasts between the prison-like suburban life Arthur follows, and the beauties of the sky above. As he watches the sun rise and set, he understands how there are far more important things in life than sitting in the house. Marion looks down upon him from the heavens; and it's his duty to honor her.It's a cliché to say that films like this are life-enhancing, but A SONG FOR MARION proves the truth of this statement.

This could be one of the saddest story in the world;it is not:although Marion is terminally-ill ,she is still full of Joie De Vivre :singing helps her through the night ,and keeps her alive much better than any religion would do.The movie is not melodrama,it's not a tear-jerker although at least two of its scenes bring tears to your eyes.This is a musical ,and the songs perfectly fit the story.In their two renditions ("true colors" and "lullaby" (goodnight ,my angel) ,the two legends of the English cinema inject more real emotion into the lyrics than you might think possible.(In a movie ,only Meryl Streep had impressed me so much with her "he's my pal" in "ironweed").Gemma Aterton's performance compares favorably with the two giants':she 's got plenty of go ,she's so warm,so generous ,so nice it's hard to believe a man walked out on her.SPOILER AHEAD :as for Marion,she is so endearing a character that when she passes away,halfway through the film, we have the rare feeling of missing ,not the actress,but the person herself ,as though we had lost one of our very best friends.And this final song ,sung by her husband,is a song of redemption:Arthur opened up,he is alive again ,more than when Marion was still with him .And for the first time since she died ,he sleeps peacefully in their bed.Against the trend ,although it throws new light on senior citizens (they are not always singing Beethoven and "respectable" works) ,"A song for Marion" is a great moment of true emotion.

This is a beautiful movie.With an talented and convincing cast, this film makes an instant connection with you which gets harder and harder to pull away from as the movie goes on.To summarise it, A Song For Marion (Unfinished Song) is about a grumpy pensioner who's wife has cancer. There are depressing moments in it, but it is guaranteed to make you laugh to -- something I look for in films.I have watched this film twice now, and I still cry as it's so, so emotional.Some good music and perfectly directed.I have to say that this is not only a great film, it's so, so underrated. I would recommend it for anyone aged between 9 and 109! It's fantastic and I can assure you, you will not regret it.

I loved this charming movie. I read it had some "sentiment" (*gasp*). I'd dispute that, and say while it had some warm glow moments- they were not properly "sentiment," if by sentiment one means a deceptive and false attempt to manipulate the audience through cheap set-ups. This was honest and truly heartfelt. A work of art, if I may use such a pretentious word.Admittedly, a few of the scenes in the Community Center depicted the OAPs as "mascots" of a sort. But the powerhouse performances of Terrance Stamp Venessa Redgrave and Gemma Aterton truly and firmly outshone any and all conceivable "cuteness" that might have crept in around the elderly character contingent. The number four character, played by Christopher Eccleston was solid, and the little Orla Hill as the granddaughter was absolutely charming, believable, and delightfully real. Nothing "hokey" in any of those character portrayals.Stamp and Redgrave were expected to be great, and they were. Gemma Aterton was a bit of a surprise. She is lovely (hot, actually), but here she not only looks good, she submits a masterful performance. She portrayed a truly worthy and compassionate person. She was much more than "dressing" for the screen- her character's intuitive and loving relational skills were in fact the mechanism that allowed Stamp and Redgrave to do their bit as well. And I think her character could not have seemed that way to the full extent that it did if Aterton the actor didn't have those same traits herself.The movie was as much about Aterton's intriguing and appealing character as it was about the "central" people- the two oldies. And that takes some serious and genuine acting talent. I hope to see Aterton acting in more roles that feature her adorable nature and great depth- she could be a true star of the first order.