Song for Marion

Grumpy pensioner Arthur (Terence Stamp) honors his recently deceased wife (Vanessa Redgrave)'s passion for performing by joining the unconventional local choir to which she used to belong, a process that helps him build bridges with his estranged son, James (Chris Eccleston).

The director, Paul Andrew Williams, made a name for himself in darker territory -- the wildly successful horror comedy "The Cottage" and the gritty home invasion story of "Cherry Tree Lane". The latter is so nasty that it left me (a hardened horror fan) squirming in my seat because of its realistic approach to the subject matter.

With that background, Williams is just about the last person I would have expected to take on a heartwarming tale of curmudgeon and his wife's elderly singing troupe. And yet, he weaves everything together expertly. I smiled quite a bit (I rarely laugh). I was captivated. And what seemed like a pretty lame story from the plot was actually rather entertaining and the characters were people I could identify with.

Really, though, the core of this film that separates it from others is the group of old folks singing rock and hip-hop songs. Maybe the joke is not completely new (Betty White has been pushing the envelope for a decade) but how can you argue with crotchety old fogies thrusting to Salt N Pepa and Motorhead? Definitely worth checking out, and fairly appropriate for the whole family.

This film was the closing night gala of the Toronto International Film Festival. It seems most of those were forgotten in past years but I hope this one gets more attention.

The story is quite simple, a grumpy old man finds the love of his life dying from cancer. She is in a local choir, lead by a joyful young woman. But the man, Terrence Stamp, wants nothing to do with it. The film is somewhat stereotypical and he's the old man you'd expect to see, seemingly allergic to anything remotely close to happiness, unless it has to do with his wife. Even his own son doesn't seem to bring him joy. But as the film goes on, of course, he will find that there are things in life that make it worth living, and that accepting people in your life will make it worth all better.

I wish I could give this a 6.5. The movie isn't the greatest comedy of all time, but it's light and it's fun. The elderly people in the choir are cute but it seems they all happen to be really weird and want to dress up as rappers and sing about sex. Yes, you know how it ends. It could only end one way and you see it coming from the opening scenes.

The film could have been better, had it not been so typical. It could have been quite good, if the movie had explored the themes it barely grazed in the film, such as Stamp's relationship with his son. The film teaches you that it's never too late to make things right. But I'm thinking for some elements in this film it may have been.

The actors were good, I wish we'd seen more of Vanessa Redgrave but Terrence Stamp upheld the film from beginning to end and I thin it would have been a lot worse without him as the lead role. I guess he learnt to sing for the film and he was quite good, but if the movie hadn't stayed at the surface of the themes it explored, it might have made for a more touching ending.

Song for Marion won't blow you away by its originality. But if you can get past that, it can still make for an enjoyable film. Keep it for a rainy day and don't expect anything it doesn't promise.

I am 16 years old and therefore someone who should typically prefer Pitch Perfect to a movie starring pensioners. And I loved Pitch Perfect. But Pitch Perfect only made me laugh. Not cry. I prefer movies that do both. And this film was one of those. One minute I was roaring with laughter and the next my mum rushed into the room wondering if I'd broken my ankle. This is probably the most fantastic movies of all time, and certainly the most underrated. A story about family, living life to the full and trying out something new -- life might just surprise you. I now feel so much better about life -- I know not to get anything for granted, particularly life, and even if people laugh at me, so what if they're laughing at me for doing something I enjoy? Great acting from Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Eccleston and Gemma Arterton. Other members of cast portrayed convincing characters too.

So if you haven't seen this movie, I recommend you watch it now. If you're 45, ask a 12 year old and a 90 year old to watch it too...I'm sure it'll be smiles all round.

I saw this show as a screening several months ago, but under the title "Song for Marion." At the time, I told several people about it and recommended it when it came out in wide release.

It reminded me of the 2007 documentary "Young@Heart," where an older group of people form a choir and sing rock and pop music.

This movie follows the lives of an elderly couple (Marion and Arthur played by Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp), their son (Christopher Eccleston) and granddaughter, and the senior adults in a choir led by a young woman (Gemma Arterton), who encourages them to sing pop and rock favorites. At the beginning of the movie, Marion is already in the choir and attempts to get the loving, but sometimes curmudgeonly, Arthur to join.

While the plot was predictable, the characters still warm the heart. The songs selected were terrific, especially when you see the choir members reactions to some of them. It was fun to watch the characters' progression as time went on. Performances by all were amazing!

Marion and Arthur are an oddly matched couple. Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) is a sweet old lady and Arthur (Terence Stamp) is a nasty and thoroughly unlikable old misanthrope. Marion is also dying from cancer. However, this isn't destroying her spirit and she spends what time she has left singing with a senior center choir. As for Arthur, he's very sad she's dying, as he does love her but he shows absolutely no love for anyone or anything else.

When Marion dies, Arthur is understandably lost and alone by his own choice and actions. However, the leader of the choir, Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) makes an effort to try to connect with this old jerk. Eventually, she does and after a while she even gets him to come to choir practice. But he's still proud and a grouch. So what's next?

The film is enjoyable and it's a two or three Kleenex sort of film. However, based on my own personal experience with family and as a psychotherapist, Arthur's change came way too fast and it was hard to believe a 70-something old man would that suddenly stop being the creep he was his entire life. I think the film would have been more memorable and effective had the change been much slower in coming. But, if you can ignore this, it is a nice film. By the way, I noticed that the summary called this movie 'hilarious'. Whoever wrote that has a very sick sense of what's hilarious!!! It's mildly funny in parts but is really NOT a comedy.