By: debbie lynn elias
UNFINISHED SONG . . . quiet, sad beauty that fills the heart and the soul. Saccharine sweet but brimming with heart, the love and warmth that fills this film is unparalleled. But I warn you up front – bring tissues, lots of tissues – as the emotion and performances in this film are so strong, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. A champion and fan of not only the 2007 Young @ Heart documentary from Steven Walker and Sally George, but the Young @ Heart chorus itself and its leader Bob Cillman, within the first few minutes of writer/director Paul Andrew Williams’ UNFINISHED SONG, my mind and heart was transported, giving me a sense that I was watching a narrative version of Young @ Heart; and that’s a good thing.
Arthur and Marion are like two peas in a pod. Married for more than half a century, they live for each other. But Marion is terminally ill with cancer. Already having gone through treatment protocols once, her cancer has returned and to such a degree that her doctor’s best advice is “Go home and have chips and ice cream.” In other words, enjoy your last months. Not one to be stopped by mortality, other than her love for Arthur, their son and their granddaughter, her one joy in life is the senior’s choir, the OAP’Z. Lacking Marion’s upbeat enthusiasm and joy for life, and seemingly wanting to keep Marion all to himself, Arthur is anything but supportive of the choir and Marion’s desires – especially when the young eager choir director Elizabeth enters them in a national choir competition. But as time passes and Marion’s health takes an even further turn for the worse, Arthur must now face his greatest fears – life and love.
Vanessa Redgrave is magic. As Marion, she is uplifting both to the film and to the relationship between Marion and Arthur. Her joy and enjoyment in life while facing death and adversity is inspirational and poignantly heartbreaking at the same time. While watching Redgrave, one can’t help but think about her own family tragedies – the loss of her sister Lynn to cancer, the untimely death of her daughter in a skiing accident – which just makes her singing of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” heart stoppingly emotional and powerful. And yes, Redgrave does her own singing. I don’t know how many takes director Williams had to do of that scene in order to get enough shots of Terrence Stamp and Christopher Eccleston NOT crying, but the end result will have everyone in the audience bawling.
As Arthur, Terrence Stamp is tacit strength. Proud, proper and stubborn. Watching Stamp’s performance as Arthur, coupled with that of Redgrave, is a master class in acting as Stamp weaves heart into the crochety, curmudgeonly Arthur. But then just wait for the finale as Stamp just turns on the waterworks in each of us.
Gemma Arterton is like a summer sun. As Elizabeth, she brings a bright, warm, cheery happiness to the film; again, with simplicity. She fills the screen with warmth. Adding to Arterton’s performance and ambient persona is Jo Thompson’s costume design for Elizabeth. The prints have flowers, birds, fabric is toned in pale yellows and blues, even the styling has a vintage tone that fits with the OAP’Z age bracket and the warm memories of youth each has, creating a subconscious common thread between the generations. A lovely subtlety.
As James, Chris Eccleston really captures the pain and frustration of the adult child who feels unwanted lost and kept in the dark about so many things but still providing color and lightness for James’ own daughter. Where Eccleston really shines, however is when butting heads with Stamp, giving the two some wonderfully poignant and powerful moments.
Written with simplicity, Paul Andrew Williams equally lenses with unfettered simple beauty. Shots are clean and beautifully framed. When saying something important visually, he and his cinematographer Carlos Catalan, quite often design a single frame with a single person, often Arthur, setting them against a large wall or empty street. A beautiful metaphor for his loneliness and sense of being lost and alone in a big world. Equally loving is the visual tonal bandwidth which stays “light”, never dragging one down. Even the cemetery scenes always have the sun shining, as if Marion is smiling down on Arthur and James.
The relationship between Arthur and Marion is beyond authentic. If Williams wanted a pair of grandparents that will resonate with the world, he achieved it. My own grandparents were like Arthur and Marion. But for three hospitalizations between them, my own grandparents spent every waking moment, every night of their 60+ year marriage together. As with Arthur and Marion they had their routine. No words be said. They were like one with each living for the other. As with Arthur, when my grandfather suffered a heart attack and small stroke and needed to be hospitalized, my grandmother fought that “no”, she would take care of him; she had to take care of him. These are the “little things” that need no scripted explanation and which everyone will recognize just from watching their own loved ones. Needless to say, Williams’ personal touches more than resonate with my own heart.
Sophie Becher’s production design of Arthur and Marion’s house is charming. Lived in, it breathes life, history, a life well lived and filled with love. Lovely touch are the mismatched pillow cases on the bed – and the fabric showing softness of years of washing. Bed linens don’t have the “crispness” of just being pulled from a package new, something you see often see in films. Even Marion’s bakeware was used and “seasoned” in appearance.
Striking a real chord with me about UNFINISHED SONG is framing the story around the AARP aged chorus. As mentioned above, reminding me a great deal of the Young @ Heart Chorus which itself was the subject of an award winning documentary several years ago – seniors in wheelchairs, toting oxygen tanks, and all singing their hearts out to heavy metal rock classics, clothed in tie-dyed shirts when singing “Ball of Confusion” – with art imitating life, Williams now incorporates those very elements into UNFINISHED SONG, bringing them to life in this “fictionalized” setting. But then, UNFINISHED SONG also harkens to the competition storyline of Sister Act 2, with a mother who doesn’t want her daughter to sing in a competition. These current filmic touchstones should resonate with many and draw them to UNFINISHED SONG.
There is nothing unfinished about UNFINISHED SONG. It sings to the heart.
Written and Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Stamp, Gemma Arterton, Chris Eccleston
