As a pitch, at least, Unfinished Song might raise a few eyebrows: Amour meets School of Rock. (Or Joyful Noise. Or Pitch Perfect).
Paul Andrew Williams’ fourth film tells the story of Arthur (Terence Stamp) and Marion (Vanessa Redgrave), an elderly couple coping with the recent news that Marion’s cancer is now terminal. The doctor has given her two months to live — just enough time for Marion to help her seniors’ choir, the OAPz, qualify for a singing competition. Their name stands for Old Age Pensioners; the “z” is for spunk.
The premise is a far cry from that of London to Brighton, the 2006 feature that put Williams on the map. That film, set in a seedy London underworld populated by criminals and child prostitutes, began at full throttle, with a crying 12-year-old getting pushed into a seedy bathroom stall and being told, “Stay in there! Don’t open the door for anyone!” — and still Williams showed himself susceptible to overwrought emotion and sentimentalism. In Unfinished Song, the intersection of aging, mortality and cheesy pop songs means those tendencies risk becoming significantly amplified.
The film begins with promise, though, particularly because Redgrave plays Marion with a moving mix of vulnerability and humor. She is the only source of joy in her household, Arthur being a gloomy presence with a permanent scowl and what you might call a dispassion for life. “You know how I feel about enjoying things,” he tells his son, James (Christopher Eccleston), with whom he has a distant and rocky relationship.