This could be one of the saddest story in the world;it is not:although Marion is terminally-ill ,she is still full of Joie De Vivre :singing helps her through the night ,and keeps her alive much better than any religion would do.The movie is not melodrama,it's not a tear-jerker although at least two of its scenes bring tears to your eyes.This is a musical ,and the songs perfectly fit the story.In their two renditions ("true colors" and "lullaby" (goodnight ,my angel) ,the two legends of the English cinema inject more real emotion into the lyrics than you might think possible.(In a movie ,only Meryl Streep had impressed me so much with her "he's my pal" in "ironweed").Gemma Aterton's performance compares favorably with the two giants':she 's got plenty of go ,she's so warm,so generous ,so nice it's hard to believe a man walked out on her.SPOILER AHEAD :as for Marion,she is so endearing a character that when she passes away,halfway through the film, we have the rare feeling of missing ,not the actress,but the person herself ,as though we had lost one of our very best friends.And this final song ,sung by her husband,is a song of redemption:Arthur opened up,he is alive again ,more than when Marion was still with him .And for the first time since she died ,he sleeps peacefully in their bed.Against the trend ,although it throws new light on senior citizens (they are not always singing Beethoven and "respectable" works) ,"A song for Marion" is a great moment of true emotion.

Believe it or not the last time I saw Terence Stamp in a movie was when he was Sgt Troy in "Far from the Madding Crowd". I saw him more recently on Charlie Rose and he still has that special "something" that separates stars like him from the run- of- the- mill pretty boys. This movie capitalizes on this quality, a gift that can stir emotions within you with just a shrug or a wry smile. In a genre that can very easily trip over into a parody or age tokenism this is a movie that negotiates the narrow path with marvellous empathy and understatement. Mr. Stamp is just outstanding in his part as are the rest of the ensemble. Not many movies of this calibre come along and it is one that you should make part of your experience

. . . (when you print out the "soundtrack" listing from this site, it runs three pages, which is unusually extensive), and no spousal abuse, unlike the similar flick nominated for the most recent so-called "best picture" Oscar, AMORE. With its refreshing lack of old people nudity, UNFINISHED SONG features some of Britain's greatest thespians (no matter how warped their real life personal political views might be--hey, give folks a break: Hitler was hilarious under Mel Brooks' direction!). In American movies of the last couple decades, nobody dies, unless it involves cartoon deaths in movies such as PACIFIC RIM, IRON MAN 3, RED, or whatever they called that last DIE HARD flick, or if the movie is designed as "Oscar bait," such as ZERO DARK THIRTY. When British movies feature old folks, on the other hand, someone's bound to croak, which has been more in line with the personal experience of my friends and relatives here in the States. So if you want fantasy, go Hollywood. But for something both moving AND realistic, try the U.K.

Grumpy pensioner Arthur (Terence Stamp) honors his recently deceased wife (Vanessa Redgrave)'s passion for performing by joining the unconventional local choir to which she used to belong, a process that helps him build bridges with his estranged son, James (Chris Eccleston).The director, Paul Andrew Williams, made a name for himself in darker territory -- the wildly successful horror comedy "The Cottage" and the gritty home invasion story of "Cherry Tree Lane". The latter is so nasty that it left me (a hardened horror fan) squirming in my seat because of its realistic approach to the subject matter.With that background, Williams is just about the last person I would have expected to take on a heartwarming tale of curmudgeon and his wife's elderly singing troupe. And yet, he weaves everything together expertly. I smiled quite a bit (I rarely laugh). I was captivated. And what seemed like a pretty lame story from the plot was actually rather entertaining and the characters were people I could identify with.Really, though, the core of this film that separates it from others is the group of old folks singing rock and hip-hop songs. Maybe the joke is not completely new (Betty White has been pushing the envelope for a decade) but how can you argue with crotchety old fogies thrusting to Salt N Pepa and Motorhead? Definitely worth checking out, and fairly appropriate for the whole family.