In A Late Quartet (2012) Philip Seymour Hoffman plays one of four classical musicians who struggle to put aside their substantial issues to perform an unannounced final show for Christopher Walken's ailing cellist (Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir round out the cast). Even as the script swings from insightful to maudlin, the film's themes of artistic ego, facing mortality, and insatiable lust resonate all the more deeply for knowing that this was one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's final performances. A film that I initially would have read as static instead plays as a generous acting showcase that approaches the profound. B