Song for Marion

Song for Marion (2012) is a British drama you can watch online on iFILM, written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Arthur is a sour, retired curmudgeon who keeps everyone at arm's length — everyone except his wife, Marion.

Marion is seriously ill, yet she keeps turning up at a pensioners' choir that belts out modern pop instead of the old standards. Arthur thinks it's foolish, right up until the choir becomes the one place he can laugh again. Its young director, Elizabeth, is oddly determined to coax the gruff old man onto the stage. Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave play the couple, with Gemma Arterton as the choirmaster and Christopher Eccleston as their estranged son.

Williams sidesteps the obvious schmaltz by leaning on his two leads: Stamp barely speaks for much of the film, and his flicker of expression carries more than any speech could. It's quiet, small-scale cinema for anyone who doesn't mind tearing up by the final number. Stream Song for Marion (2012) online on iFILM.