Article updated: 1/24/2013 6:25 AM

Performances and Hoffman's direction buoy plot-challenged 'Quartet'

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Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins star as residents in a musician's retirement home in Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut "Quartet."

Maggie Smith, right, and Pauline Collins star as residents in a musician's retirement home in Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut "Quartet."

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Dustin Hoffman's impressive and modest directorial debut, "Quartet," stars Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins and Billy Connolly as residents of a British retirement home for professional musicians. Hoffman opts for an Altmanesque take on Harwood's script, letting the lovable, troubled characters (including Michael Gambon's bullying director) become the movie's center attraction.