Taking A Look At The Movie Quartet

This essay aims to answer the following question: ‘How can nursing homes provide a good quality of life for their residents?’. The essay will answer this question by looking at the movie Quartet directed by Dustin Hoffman (2012). The movie will be analysed by focusing on specific themes and doing further research on these themes.

Quartet takes place in a nursing home for retired professional musicians. Residents include Reggie, Wilf and Cissy who are all Opera singers. All the members of the nursing home continue to pursue their passion for music which includes playing instruments, singing, teaching and inspiring the youth.

The home, which the residents love, is under financial threat. The residents aim to host a gala to raise funds to keep

The entrance hall has high ceilings, wooden floors, is well lit and furnished. A staff member gives Jean a tour of the house where she explains that Beecham house was named after Sir Thomas Beecham who was a famous conductor.

Jean is then lead to her suite which is upstairs and there is a chair lift if she may need it. The first thing Jean unpacks is the recordings of her singing which are personal items from home. Her room is relatively large, with paintings, and plenty of furniture. Everything is in good condition. As Jean settles into her chair, her neighbour begins playing the cello. She sighs and falls asleep in her chair.

Throughout the movie, the characters go on long walks through the gardens where there are many places to sit and rest. One walk leads to a quaint church while others end up a streams and forest.

The physical environment of a nursing home has to conform to certain regulations such as the safety code and government regulations (Nolan, 2012). This restricts the nursing homes from creating certain changes that would allow a more homely environment (Nolan,

The Green House project aims to provide an open kitchen and a smaller environment (Stone, 2005). Dr William Thomas agrees with the shift to more welcoming, homelike environments which would include a neighbourhood of about 25-30 people (Salisbury Post, 2013). Ted Goins who is the president of Lutheran Services Carolina, believes that the shift to a home-like environment is more of a culture change than a building change (Salisbury Post, 2013). Goins continues to express that nursing staff should work with what they have to create a pleasant experience for the guests as “The most important factor is the quality of life. It makes all the difference in the world.” (Salisbury Post,