Directed by: Stephen Frears
Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Nina Arienda
There comes a point in Florence Foster Jenkins in which we realize Madame Florence knows she can't carry a tune in a bucket. She says, "People may say I couldn't sing, but they will never say I didn't sing," For Florence, singing to 3,000 people at Carnegie Hall is a fulfillment of a dream. She loves to sing, even if she is the only one who thinks she has any ability. She just wants to sing something. This allows Florence Foster Jenkins to be a touching portrait of a woman who may or may not be delusional, but definitely can't sing. The eponymous film is based on true events, so take from that what you will.
Milking laughs from this premise only goes so far. We hear her sing and our reflex is to wince. Her voice is an assault on the ears, but that doesn't stop a voice coach from giving her vague feedback that passes as praise. When asked if he would be able to watch her perform live, the coach promises to be in Florida at the time. No matter when that time is. Instead, Florence Foster Jenkins focuses on the two men in her life, her husband St. Clair Bayfield (Grant), who lives in a separate apartment and her new pianist Cosme McMoon (Helberg), who can't help but suppress his laughter when Florence belts out notes. He asks Bayfield if he could play piano during her lessons, but not on stage. He has a rep to protect, but soon he grows to love Florence like a cherished grandmother.
Florence (Streep) is still someone we want to see succeed, even if its only on her terms. Stricken with syphilis early in life, she manages to live with her illness for nearly 50 years. Her doctor is astounded that she lived this long. Bayfield suggests her love of music has kept her going. She is wealthy and a patron of the arts in World War II Manhattan, but wishes to do more for the musical community. She wants to sing opera, despite a flat, shrill voice that sounds like Curly when he sings in the shower.
There are enough scenes with Florence singing to hammer the point home without becoming a one-joke movie, The best qualities of Florence Foster Jenkins, the movie and the person, are not about her glaring lack of talent, but how music enables Florence to have a goal and something to live for. A private recording of her music soon hits the airwaves and she becomes a cult favorite. This provides enough leverage for Bayfield to book Carnegie Hall and the rest is obscure history.
Florence Foster Jenkins captures the elegance and opulence of New York high society. Jenkins' apartment is palatial, while Carnegie Hall is vast while suggesting intimacy. Streep is 100% convincing as a very bad singer. This takes someone of Streep's talent to pull off and is a lot harder than it sounds. Grant gives the most multi-layered performance in the film. He dotes on his wife, sometimes protecting her, sometimes encouraging, and sometimes absolutely understanding the fine line between both. Yet, through it all, their underlying love is there. Helberg has some big laughs with alternating aghast expressions and muffled laughs. The movie implies his homosexuality which at least explains his future obsession with bodybuilding. His growing loyalty to Florence is touching and the two have a nice scene in Cosme's apartment where Florence acts as the maternal figure missing from his life while they play Chopin,
Florence Foster Jenkins doesn't make the mistake of making too much fun of its title character's singing. If she is a joke, then why should we be all involved in her lifelong dreams and whether they succeed? But the movie has enough heart for us to be moved when she receives a standing ovation at the film's end. Whether it's deserved is another matter.
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