Starring
Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Nine
Arianda, John Kavanagh. Directed by Stephen Frears. (2016, 110 min).
PARAMOUNT
The
cool thing about Meryl Streep is she's instantly recognizable, yet we
never find ourselves saying “Hey, there's Meryl Streep” whenever
she's on the screen. All we see is the character she's disappeared
into. I guess that's why she's been nominated for 19 Oscars - winning
three - and one of the few living actors who can never be accused of
phoning-it-in.
If
I were a betting man, I'd say the odds are decent she'll get yet
another nomination for her performance in Florence Foster Jenkins
(maybe even win it). Even if this film were terrible, Streep as the
hapless title character makes it worth your time.
Fortunately,
the movie is far from terrible.
Inspired
by true events, Florence Foster Jenkins is about a New York
socialite with a lifelong passion for music. Along with her husband,
failed actor St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), she has always heavily
supported the New York music scene, opera in particular. She also
fancies herself a singer but, despite endless practice and training,
is oblivious to the fact she doesn't possess a shred of talent. That
doesn't stop her from trying to achieve her dream of performing at
Carnegie Hall, hiring budding young pianist Cosme McMoon (Simon
Helberg) to accompany her on stage.
 |
| "Smoooooke on the Waaater...fire in the sky..." |
Florence
also suffers from the debilitating effects of syphilis (there was no
real cure back in 1944), which she contracted from her first husband and makes her current marriage to St. Clair somewhat unusual; they
live apart and he keeps a mistress, though he's still devoted to
Florence and her career. Aware she's a terrible singer, he
continuously does his best to shield her from ridicule (such as
bribing critics and hand-picking her audience). Meanwhile, after
taking it onto herself to make a record, Jenkins becomes enormously
popular with her peers and the public, mostly because she's laughably
awful, but also because she's always been so kind-hearted and
generous that she's earned a lot of goodwill from those in her social
circle.
Florence
Foster Jenkins gets to have its cake and eat it, too. The film
mines a lot of laughs at Jenkins' expense, but at the same time, her
utter sincerity is so endearing that we root for her, despite the
fact she continuously makes a public fool of herself. While Streep
deserves much of the credit, director Stephen Frears approaches his
subject with the same attention to character complexity as he did
with The Queen. Just as Queen Elizabeth was aloof but not
cold-hearted, Jenkins may be blissfully unaware of her complete lack
of talent and oblivious of what's said about her, but she's not
presented as a fool. The same can be said for Grant as St. Clair,
putting a sweet spin on his conniving cad routine; despite some of
his unscrupulous actions, they're done with the best of intentions.
Helberg is also terrific, stealing a few scenes for himself. Despite
being initially horrified over what being associated with Jenkins
might do to his career, Cosme grows to love and respect her, which
Helberg conveys with more subtlety than one expects from a cast
member of The Big Bang Theory.
Funny,
sweet-natured and ultimately touching, Florence Foster Jenkins
is a hard film not to like. With a story almost too strange to be
true and another award-worthy performance by Streep, this one is not
to be missed. You also might want to have some tissues handy.
EXTRA
KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES:
“Ours is a Happy World” (featuring interviews with the cast);
“The Music and Songs of Florence”; “From Script to Screen”;
“Designing the Look”; “Live at Carnegie Hall” (a brief
history of the venue); Meryl Streep Q&A; world premiere footage
DELETED
SCENES
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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