Plot
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Release Year: 2016
Rating: 7.1/10 (2,076 voted)
Critic's Score: 70/100
Director: Stephen Frears
Stars: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg
Storyline
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Cast: Meryl Streep -
Florence Foster Jenkins
Hugh Grant -
St Clair Bayfield
Simon Helberg -
Cosme McMoon
Rebecca Ferguson -
Kathleen
Nina Arianda -
Agnes Stark
Stanley Townsend -
Phineas Stark
Allan Corduner -
John Totten
Christian McKay -
Earl Wilson
David Haig -
Carlo Edwards
John Sessions -
Dr. Hermann
Brid Brennan -
Kitty
John Kavanagh -
Arturo Toscanini
Pat Starr -
Mrs. Vanderbilt
Maggie Steed -
Mrs. James O'Flaherty
Thelma Barlow -
Mrs. Oscar Garmunder
Taglines:
The inspiring true story of the world's worst singer.
Country: UK
Language: English
Release Date: 12 August 2016
Filming Locations: Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
Box Office Details
Budget: $29,000,000
(estimated)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
In real life, Jenkins gave up her dream of becoming a piano artiste after she sustained an arm injury. See more »
Goofs:
St Clair Bayfield and Kathleen are in a bar/restaurant after the golfing weekend. He has a cigarette in his left hand. Sometimes it is close to his face and sometimes in his lap. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
Perpetuating little white lies is part of everyday life and keeps
society ticking over. But to what point is it acceptable to massage an
ego with a dirty black lie. A real whopper. And is such a lie
perpetuated by love? Greed? Or the pursuit of personal glory? This is
the rather subtle sub-text behind the story of Florence Foster Jenkins.
Based on a true story, Florence Foster Jenkins tells the story of a
truly awful singer (Meryl Streep), cossetted in her closed world of a
1944 New York hotel and pampered by her husband St Clair Mayfield (Hugh
Grant), who is otherwise entwined with the sensuous Kathleen (Rebecca
Ferguson). Together with ex-actor Mayfield, the wealthy Florence is the
co-star of the show at her self-owned "Verdi Club" where she has a
non-speaking role enacting various 'tableau' scenes. But in the
interests of following her dreams she recruits the help of famous
singing instructor Carlo Edwards (the marvellous David Haig) and an
enthusiastic and personable young pianist Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg,
"The Big Bang Theory"). Carlo is aware of what he is in for (he wants
to keep the arrangement 'on the quiet'); Cosme is not (to great comic
effect).
This classic re-telling of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' ultimately takes
us on a journey to a packed concert at the Carnegie Hall, where many of
the tickets have been given away to rowdy and drunk servicemen.
It's impossible to describe a film as "delightful… just delightful"
without hearing the velvety tones of Hugh Grant saying those words. But
that's what it is. A treat of moving and at times wildly funny
storytelling from director Stephen Frears ("Philomena", "The Queen")
that just works from beginning to end.
Meryl Streep is just glorious in the titular role, oozing charm. Those
UK readers will probably fondly remember the piano playing 'skills' of
the late, great comedian Les Dawson (google it for a youtube clip) who
had to be an absolutely brilliant pianist to be able to deliberately
play so badly. In a similar way, we know (from the likes of "Mamma
Mia") that Streep knows how to belt out a good tune, so it requires
some considerable skill to deliver Florence's songs as well (or as
badly) as she does. Bravo Ms Streep, Bravo!
And Hugh Grant is often quite unfairly criticized for playing Hugh
Grant in every movie (as if Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford are much
different?), but here he turns in a totally sterling performance. The
drivers behind Mayfield's character are never totally clear (and I
won't spoil that here), but in the final reel the motivating factor
becomes crystal clear, and Grant has never been better. (Bravo Mr
Grant, Bravo!).
To round off the accolades for the lead performances, Simon Helberg
turns in a genius comic performance as the goggle-eyed pianist, who
lights up every scene he's in and delivers his lines (e.g. one about a
naval encounter) with perfect comic timing.
Shining again in a supporting role is Rebecca Ferguson ("Mission
Impossible: Rogue Nation") who once again is dazzling. Among the bright
young acting newcomers of the likes of Vikander and Rooney, Ferguson
(who is approaching her mid-30s) brings a level of sophisticated
glamour and maturity to the screen that is strongly reminiscent of the
great starlets of the 1940's and 50's like Kathrine Hepburn or Lana
Turner. She is fast becoming one of my favourite actresses. Also worthy
of note is Nina Arianda as gold- digging starlet Agnes Stark –
effectively playing (at least at first) the "little boy in the crowd"
in the Emperor's fable.
Written by TV-writer Nicholas Martin in his big-screen debut, the story
is slowly and subtly unwoven, only progressively revealing the plot
points in an intelligent manner. Other screenwriters take note: this is
how to do it.
Cinematography is by the great Danny Cohen ("The Danish Girl"; "Room")
and with the Production Design, Costuming and Special effects crew
1940's New York is vibrantly brought to life.
While the film's leisurely pace might make the younger set fidgety,
this is a treat particularly for older viewers looking for a great
night out at the cinema. The film got a good old-fashioned round of
applause at my showing when the credits came up. "Delightful… just
delightful". Go see it.
(Please visit http://bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of
this review and to comment with your thoughts. Thanks).
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