Song for Marion 2012

Stephen Holden, New York Times: It may be hokum, but it gets to you. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: In the end, director Paul Andrew Williams fails to resist sentimentality, but classy acting and distinguished production values never sink to the level of soap opera. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The gentle story of a marriage, and of how music can help make a broken heart whole again. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: For all its sporadic flashes of insight, Unfinished Song is built around the assumption that there's nothing funnier than old timers throwing devil horns, doing the robot, or performing a rousing rendition of Salt-N-Pepa's "Let's Talk About Sex." Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave would be captivating reading the nutrition label on a bag of crisps, so it's no surprise that they elevate "Unfinished Song"... Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: [Stamp] and Vanessa Redgrave, as well as supporting actors Christopher Eccleston and Gemma Arterton, raise "Unfinished Song," Paul Andrew Williams's entry in the golden age genre, from mawkish to genuinely heartwarming. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: [A] sappy drama. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: When it's over you may notice red marks on your throat, so determined is "Unfinished Song" to strangle the audience into emotional submission. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The director, Paul Andrew Williams, at least had the good sense to cast Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave as his leads. Who can possibly look away from those two whenever they're on screen? Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: A movie so geared toward hitting its spots, it amounts to emotional Muzak rather than something truly played live. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: Unfinished Song is full of predictably poignant moments; you'd be lucky to survive the film dry-eyed. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Shamelessly sentimental, cute to a fault, but the acting is first-rate. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's all very predictable - including the competition the group enters, the tragedies along the way, and the final big-hugs-all-around ending. Read more

Tomas Hachard, NPR: [It] doesn't earn its sentimentalism; instead it rolls through a series of cliched life lessons that never come close to exploring the film's emotional territory with any depth or commitment. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Thank goodness, at least, for the sterling cast. In fact, you won't find a better example of the ways in which craft and talent can elevate even the most rote material. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Stamp could not be better as a man set emotionally adrift when he loses the love of his life. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: In the film, a comment is made about the power of a voice being not in technique but in the journey it took to get there. Stamp and Redgrave and living embodiments of that philosophy. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Get out your handkerchiefs for an unabashed tearjerker that has some surprisingly potent moments. Buried in all the shameless sentiment is a touching family story, and good performances from veterans Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The crescendo of two resonant careers makes the false notes of "Unfinished Song" forgivable. Read more

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: [A] modest, tear-jerking charmer ... Just don't expect too much more than what shows on its paint-by-numbers surface. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp and those voices - their solos contain this picture like carved book-ends, vintage and lovely and still so profoundly of use. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Blends the premise of TV's Glee with liberal splashes of recent older-skewing audience pleasers Quartet and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in predictable fashion. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Williams fills his screenplay with nails that he can then hammer for the rest of the running time, so whether it's dying wife/mum/grandma or strained father-son relations that bring you to tears, the movie keeps pummeling you until you produce them. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: Even though we know where the film's going, it still manages to give the tear-ducts a workout. Read more

Eric Hynes, Time Out: It may be the equivalent of NBA stars tossing crumpled paper into a wastebasket, but you're no less compelled to watch old pros go through the motions. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The movie works mostly because of the artistry of its stellar cast and heartfelt script by writer-director Paul Andrew Williams. Read more

Ernest Hardy, Village Voice: Williams uses a sledgehammer to drive [his] message home, but the velvet touch of his cast (particularly Redgrave) almost salvages this. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: It's worth a watch, if just for Stamp's complex performance. Just don't forget to bring some tissues. Read more