Hitting all the high notes of tenderness, love, music and drama, Florence Foster Jenkins’s will soon be nominated for all its pitch-perfect performances.
Susan Boyle ‘dreamed a dream’ and apparently so did Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep). Directed by the ever-fabulous Stephen Frear at the helm, comes the 1940s true life story of a woman who dreamed of singing at Carnegie Hall. And she finally did.
But that’s not because she was a good singer, it’s because she was a determined one. At first she’s a wealthy socialite dropping down on a New York stage of her private Verdi Club, dressed as an angel, and then as a Viking, entertaining elderly socialites.
At night, she goes home to the comfort of her stage manager and husband, St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) who feeds her the delusions she requires. Florence has a secret. And it’s revealed each night when she’s safely tucked into bed.
St Clair has some secrets too, and it comes in the form of Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson.)
But when Florence decides to become a full time entertainer, having been inspired by Arturo Toscanini (John Kavanagh) she hires Cosmo McMoon (Simon Helberg) to be her pianist. For $150 a week he’ll accompany her on piano, as well as guard her briefcase, her chair fetishes and her rules about potato salad.
Her trio of men indulge her, encourage her, appease her, and basically feed her the B.S. She sings like a mating cow.
There are two things to realize here when watching Florence Foster Jenkins. The first is it takes incredible talent for Meryl Streep to sing badly. And second, you’ll find yourself wondering how Hugh Grant kept a straight face.
This is a film about following your dream, chasing it to the very end. Passion and life and love make for the best formula.
Hitting all the high notes of tenderness, love, music and drama, Florence Foster Jenkins’s will soon be nominated for all its pitch-perfect performances. ♔ ♕ ♚ ♛