'A Late Quartet': Familiar music muffled by overfamiliar theatrics ★★ 1/2

The rarefied world of classical music is the setting and the intimate "perfect square" of a string quartet the crucible for "A Late Quartet," a melodrama of love, lust, betrayal and Beethoven. It's a quiet film of tempestuous but predictable situations and emotions, a soap opera made watchable by its illustrious cast.

By Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers

November 1, 2012