Review by Alyn Darnay
Written and Directed by: Paul Andrew Williams
Cast: Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arterton, Christopher Eccleston
What’s going on with the British? They seem to be making a lot of films that reflect the sunset life among their elderly. Allow me to point out two exports that come to mind quickly that we’ve seen lately, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Quartet.†Each film pretty good on their own and each staring a great older actor or two and each placing them in situations where the straight laced British demeanor crumbles embarrassingly by topics not usually spoken of in public. Is this a trend or just a way of affording some brilliant actors, that the public has loved for years, the opportunity to continue their careers? I don’t know, but either way, I like it. When good actors, of any age, hit the big screen, magic happens and to me that’s what the film experience is all about.
In “Unfinished Songâ€, originally released in England as “Song For Marionâ€, the magic happens in the form of an actor named Terence Stamp! You should remember him; he’s been acting in films for about 50 years and to the best of my knowledge has never given anything less that a bravura performance. No change here. As Arthur, in a risky performance so simplistic and quiet, yet with such deep underlying agony, he elevates a rather shamelessly predictable story to a moving study of loss and rebirth. Not that he does it completely alone; the vast talents of Vanessa Redgrave and Gemma Arterton are also along to assist.
Simply put here’s the storyline:
This British dramedy is the tragic yet uplifting story of a curmudgeonly old pensioner named Arthur (Stamp). A man in the twilight of his life, cut off from his feelings, completely content with his dull daily routine and deeply in love with his wife of many years. He is suddenly taken out of his comfort zone when his beloved wife Marion (Redgrave) enters her last stage of cancer and he must face her coming departure. Before she goes, she introduces him to a spirited local singing group led by the youthful and charming Elizabeth (Arterton). Estranged from his son, living alone and distraught, his discovery of music and a subsequent national singing competition revitalizes his passion for adventure and shows us all that life can and should be celebrated at any age.
Bring Tissue, because something in this film is going to get you all teary eyed like. Though it’s predictable, it’s still a feel-good story with exceptional acting and some shot to the heart singing. Like bookends, Redgrave starts the show by pulling your heartstrings with a killer rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and Stamp ties the knot with a soul-searing version of Billy Joel’s “Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel).” If you aren’t tearing up by then, you’re not human.
My take, the movie’s bound to fly under the radar with all the big summer hits, but if you want a sweet little film that with move you, here it is.
Rating: 3-1/2 Stars (out of 5) “UNFINISHED SONG†is rated PG-13  1hr.30min.