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Song for Marion
Cancer and Society
Film Song for Marion
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 14 April 2013
can do. As this absence of detail about her diagnosis suggests, the plot isn’t really about Marion’s illness; rather, it’s about how Arthur deals with the loss of his wife, particularly through his continued involvement in the choir and his developing friendship with Elizabeth. Williams’ previous features, spanning the gritty crime thriller London to Brighton and the dark horror-comedy The Cottage, have had little in common with the fairly light, crowd-pleasing style of Song for Marion, and his lack of experience in the genre is apparent. The story is straightforward and predictable, relying on formulaic characterisations and plot points. Outside the main characters, the choir is played broadly for laughs. Few of the members are afforded much of a personality—one is injury-prone in a way that doesn’t manage to be as funny as it needs to, while another talks a lot about sex (and at one point makes a pass at choir contest judge). Much of the comedy depends on The OAPz performing songs the audience are meant not to expect from a group of pensioners (Salt-N-Pepa’s Let’s Talk about Sex, The B-52s’ Love Shack, Motörhead’s Ace of Spades), but the gimmick quickly wears off, especially when the vintage of many of the tracks is considered (Ace of Spades was released in 1980, and Motörhead’s Lemmy is himself in his late 60s). The family drama in the background could perhaps have balanced out the underdevelopment of the supporting cast, if only it had been explored in any depth. As a result, the film relies on its leads to maintain interest, and in this they are largely successful. Redgrave is endearing as Marion, and her exit from the story is genuinely moving; Stamp is also very well cast as the cantankerous Arthur, and the relationship between
the two is warm and believable. Although the humour is gentle and not always entirely successful, the film does have its funny moments. Unfortunately, however, although comparisons have been made with successes of the subgenre of populist British comedy-dramas (eg, The Full Monty, Brassed Off), they have been almost entirely unfavourable. The story climaxes at a choir contest in which The OAPz are to compete, but any jeopardy that might have created the necessary tension is short-lived, and the final plot twist so forcibly contrived as to give the impression that it was tacked on at the end. That said, like Redgrave’s earlier solo performance of True Colors, Stamp’s on-stage finale of Billy Joel’s Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) is poignant and affecting. However, whether the limited successes of the rest of the film earned it that poignancy, or whether it took advantage of its subject matter of loss and mourning in a way that the ungenerous might describe as cynical, is difficult to judge.
Song for Marion Directed by Paul Andrew Williams, 2013. UK, 96 min.
Neil Bennet
Nick Wall
In Song for Marion, a British comedydrama from writer–director Paul Andrew Williams, the titular Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) has terminal cancer, but still enjoys taking part in a local community choir of pensioners led by young schoolteacher Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). The choir (“The OAPz”) do renditions of pop songs (opening the film with Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Martha and the Vandellas’ Nowhere to Run), much to the disdain and disinterest of Marion’s husband, perennial grump Arthur, played by Terence Stamp. As Marion’s illness gets progressively worse, she asks Arthur to go to practice in her stead. Although reticent at first, he starts to get more involved, with predictable results. While the story of the choir takes the foreground, a secondary plot revolves around Arthur and Marion’s son James (Christopher Eccleston) and granddaughter Jennifer (Orla Hill). Arthur and James seem not to get along, although the reason why is never fully explained. When James comments that Marion is looking well when she returns home after an emergency hospital admission, Arthur responds matter-of-factly that “she’s got a couple of months”, apparently not thinking that it might be kinder to break the news more gently. Cancer was the cause of more than 28% of deaths in the UK in 2010. Few of us will go through life without losing a loved one to the disease. Although the film’s trailer is careful to avoid plot spoilers, Marion’s death will come as no surprise to anyone who has noted the film’s title or the position of Redgrave’s name on the billing; even without these clues it is signposted from very early on. We never learn much about Marion’s illness—we only know that it’s cancer because chemotherapy is mentioned, and we witness a scene in which a doctor tells Marion and Arthur that there’s nothing more they
293
Film Song for Marion
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 14 April 2013
can do. As this absence of detail about her diagnosis suggests, the plot isn’t really about Marion’s illness; rather, it’s about how Arthur deals with the loss of his wife, particularly through his continued involvement in the choir and his developing friendship with Elizabeth. Williams’ previous features, spanning the gritty crime thriller London to Brighton and the dark horror-comedy The Cottage, have had little in common with the fairly light, crowd-pleasing style of Song for Marion, and his lack of experience in the genre is apparent. The story is straightforward and predictable, relying on formulaic characterisations and plot points. Outside the main characters, the choir is played broadly for laughs. Few of the members are afforded much of a personality—one is injury-prone in a way that doesn’t manage to be as funny as it needs to, while another talks a lot about sex (and at one point makes a pass at choir contest judge). Much of the comedy depends on The OAPz performing songs the audience are meant not to expect from a group of pensioners (Salt-N-Pepa’s Let’s Talk about Sex, The B-52s’ Love Shack, Motörhead’s Ace of Spades), but the gimmick quickly wears off, especially when the vintage of many of the tracks is considered (Ace of Spades was released in 1980, and Motörhead’s Lemmy is himself in his late 60s). The family drama in the background could perhaps have balanced out the underdevelopment of the supporting cast, if only it had been explored in any depth. As a result, the film relies on its leads to maintain interest, and in this they are largely successful. Redgrave is endearing as Marion, and her exit from the story is genuinely moving; Stamp is also very well cast as the cantankerous Arthur, and the relationship between
the two is warm and believable. Although the humour is gentle and not always entirely successful, the film does have its funny moments. Unfortunately, however, although comparisons have been made with successes of the subgenre of populist British comedy-dramas (eg, The Full Monty, Brassed Off), they have been almost entirely unfavourable. The story climaxes at a choir contest in which The OAPz are to compete, but any jeopardy that might have created the necessary tension is short-lived, and the final plot twist so forcibly contrived as to give the impression that it was tacked on at the end. That said, like Redgrave’s earlier solo performance of True Colors, Stamp’s on-stage finale of Billy Joel’s Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) is poignant and affecting. However, whether the limited successes of the rest of the film earned it that poignancy, or whether it took advantage of its subject matter of loss and mourning in a way that the ungenerous might describe as cynical, is difficult to judge.
Song for Marion Directed by Paul Andrew Williams, 2013. UK, 96 min.
Neil Bennet
Nick Wall
In Song for Marion, a British comedydrama from writer–director Paul Andrew Williams, the titular Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) has terminal cancer, but still enjoys taking part in a local community choir of pensioners led by young schoolteacher Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton). The choir (“The OAPz”) do renditions of pop songs (opening the film with Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Martha and the Vandellas’ Nowhere to Run), much to the disdain and disinterest of Marion’s husband, perennial grump Arthur, played by Terence Stamp. As Marion’s illness gets progressively worse, she asks Arthur to go to practice in her stead. Although reticent at first, he starts to get more involved, with predictable results. While the story of the choir takes the foreground, a secondary plot revolves around Arthur and Marion’s son James (Christopher Eccleston) and granddaughter Jennifer (Orla Hill). Arthur and James seem not to get along, although the reason why is never fully explained. When James comments that Marion is looking well when she returns home after an emergency hospital admission, Arthur responds matter-of-factly that “she’s got a couple of months”, apparently not thinking that it might be kinder to break the news more gently. Cancer was the cause of more than 28% of deaths in the UK in 2010. Few of us will go through life without losing a loved one to the disease. Although the film’s trailer is careful to avoid plot spoilers, Marion’s death will come as no surprise to anyone who has noted the film’s title or the position of Redgrave’s name on the billing; even without these clues it is signposted from very early on. We never learn much about Marion’s illness—we only know that it’s cancer because chemotherapy is mentioned, and we witness a scene in which a doctor tells Marion and Arthur that there’s nothing more they
293