Grumpy pensioner Arthur honors his recently deceased wife'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.
Die hard weepy fans might find catharsis in the amount of tears that flow but for the rest of us, it’s one to avoid.
With Redgrave on top form and the story's moving take on devotion in the face of death, your tear ducts will be powerless to resist.
The end result is a flat, depressingly one-note experience, made worse by wasting good actors (particularly Christopher Eccleston as Arthur’s semi-estranged son) in the service of a movie that celebrates wilful amateurism over anything good.
Easy to be cynical, that is, until you watch it. Even as feelgood goes, Song for Marion is unusually guileless, and both Redgrave and Terence Stamp, as Marion’s curmudgeonly husband Arthur, play this with an unrehearsed tenderness.
This may pick up audiences wanting more after The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but it's terribly feeble stuff.
Unsophisticated but likeable.
A likable, mainstream and commercial heartwarmer.
Extraordinary thing, the potency of cheap music.
Sentimental stuff but when an ailing Redgrave sings True Colours it really does bring a lump to your throat.
Everything that follows is as predictable, dreary and proverbial as the weather in Manchester.
General release. Check local listings for show times.