Florence Foster Jenkins - directed by Stephen Fears
Screenplay: Nicholas Martin
Music Score by: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Danny Cohen
Edited by: Valerio Bonelli
Running Time: 110 minutes
Rated: PG - very minor profanity
Movies about 'failures'....
I have mixed feelings about them for a couple of reasons.
Mainly my reservations stem from an absolute hatred of the abundance of reality tv shows that seek to make champions of people who almost without exception lack any talent whatsoever or at best have a little bit.
I would prefer that people with talent who achieve something are held up as examples not a factory worker from Scunthorpe who does an hilariously incompetent beef stroganoff, version of 'You Light Up My Life' or is so caustic / mentally deficient / pretty that it doesn't matter that he/she can't hang wallpaper in whatever decorate-your-neighbours-house show that is in vogue at that time.
And then there is the depression factor in watching a movie or tv show about people who are clearly never going to be good enough.
But there are movies that find something worthy to champion.
We have had the rather excellent "Eddie the Eagle" recently and then there are the likes of James Gunn's underrated "Super" and "Tin Cup" with Kevin Costner and a wonderfully 'waggly' Rene Russo.
The trick is to make the story about something other than the incompetence or weakness.
With "Florence Foster Jenkins" we have the based on a true story movie about a wealthy New York socialite with a passion for the arts and in particular music who decides that she will perform concerts herself despite a very, very noticeable lack of talent in that area.
By refusing to take the low road and use the awful whinings that Jenkins produced as pure comedy fodder writer Nicholas Martin instead chooses to focus on the relationships between Jenkins and her husband and her pianist Cosme McMoon.
Her husband St Clair Bayfield (Grant) is devoted to her and her ambitions but he is only too aware that she is terrible.
He carefully selects attendees at her concerts so that no one inclined to let the cat out of the bag is there.
There are bribes to writers and critics and when Florence decides to restart her singing lessons St Clair chooses and then coaches new pianist Cosme (Helberg) so that he plays ball with the deception.
The film is not shy about some of St Clair's (and McMoon's) motivations here.
Both men make money from the wealthy woman.
St Clair lives in an apartment paid for by Florence in which he sleeps with his girlfriend Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson) and holds drunken parties.
Although he kisses Florence goodnight he doesn't stay with her and the arrangement (minus the girlfriend) seems agreeable to both.
If it sounds like an awfully sad and pathetic affair worry not.
Although it doesn't shy away from these aspects the movie spends most of its time showing the genuine affection that exists between Florence and St Clair and the burgeoning affection that develops between her and Cosme.
Putting Meryl Streep in a movie is an automatic boost to your chances of making something good but the revelation here is Simon Helberg.
Known best for his role as Howard on tv show "The Big Bang Theory" he all but steals the movie.
His awkward but slyly manipulative (witness his audition scene) Cosme gets the bulk of the laughs outside of Streep's extraordinary singing scenes.
He exists initially as surrogate for the audience with his hands frozen over the keys, mouth open stance when first we hear Florence's um.... talent.
As he comes to know the real woman the relationship becomes the heart of the movie.
Yes, he is making money from her and in reality he didn't achieve any measure of fame beyond that that he gained with Florence but it is clear that his feelings for her are genuine.
Likewise St Clairs.
No one plays the likeable cad like Hugh Grant and he has never been better than he is in this film.
Somehow he remains on side with the audience even when he is secreting a naked Kathleen in a closet in her own home when Florence drops by unannounced.
It is the focus on the genuine relationships that keeps "Florence Foster Jenkins" from being just another depressing music biopic or an excuse to mock the untalented.
Not to say that it doesn't revel in the outrageous awfulness of Florence's singing voice.
To neglect to do so would be like ending "Titanic" before the iceberg strike after all.
Director Frears is very happy to allow Streep to let fly with what is a bang on off-key, toneless reproduction of the real thing and there are many scenes displaying this.
The trailers play this aspect up as a central feature and I freely confess morbid curiosity was as much a drive to me seeing this movie as the chance to see Streep.
I neglected to single her out for praise earlier because at this point it must surely be a given that she is excellent.
It has been clear to me for years that there is simply no role that she cannot take on.
Any lingering doubt disappeared with the 1994 action flick "The River Wild".
Not a great movie but Streep plays an action hero and plays it damned well.
I don't like music biopics as a rule and find them boring, predictable and samey but in this case I don't think that it counts as a biopic.
This is a character study and a pretty good one.
There are several genuinely touching moments. One late in the piece is a pay-off of sorts for a great performance from Nina Arianda as an abrasive trophy wife.
All in all I enjoyed this movie quite a lot - there is much to like if perhaps not love.
It does feel a little slight like it may have suited a BBC Sunday night playhouse episode rather than a feature but it entertains for all of its duration thanks to some sure direction and a trio of excellent performances.
It is always good to see Rebecca Ferguson ("Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation") on screen albeit in a smaller role.
The movie makes it clear that Florence is a worthy subject for film immortalisation.
No less a figure than David Bowie was apparently a fan of her work and this must have been for reasons other that her talent.
If nothing else this movie serves as a reminder that this woman did much for the music and arts scene in New York at a time when the world was still very much in the balance with World War 2 raging.
Perhaps not such a failure after all?
RATING: 70 / 100
CONCLUSION: Slight but entertaining, this is worth the price of admission for the performances of Grant, Helberg and a terrific Streep delivering a jaw-dropping vocal impression of 'the worst singer in the world'.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh O'Connor, John Kavanagh, Nina Arianda, Mark Arnold, David Haig, John Sessions, Christian McKay, David Menkin, Nat Luurtsema
Screenplay: Nicholas Martin
Music Score by: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Danny Cohen
Edited by: Valerio Bonelli
Running Time: 110 minutes
Rated: PG - very minor profanity
I have mixed feelings about them for a couple of reasons.
Mainly my reservations stem from an absolute hatred of the abundance of reality tv shows that seek to make champions of people who almost without exception lack any talent whatsoever or at best have a little bit.
I would prefer that people with talent who achieve something are held up as examples not a factory worker from Scunthorpe who does an hilariously incompetent beef stroganoff, version of 'You Light Up My Life' or is so caustic / mentally deficient / pretty that it doesn't matter that he/she can't hang wallpaper in whatever decorate-your-neighbours-house show that is in vogue at that time.
And then there is the depression factor in watching a movie or tv show about people who are clearly never going to be good enough.
But there are movies that find something worthy to champion.
We have had the rather excellent "Eddie the Eagle" recently and then there are the likes of James Gunn's underrated "Super" and "Tin Cup" with Kevin Costner and a wonderfully 'waggly' Rene Russo.
The trick is to make the story about something other than the incompetence or weakness.
 |
| Meryl Streep, Simon Helberg and Hugh Grant |
By refusing to take the low road and use the awful whinings that Jenkins produced as pure comedy fodder writer Nicholas Martin instead chooses to focus on the relationships between Jenkins and her husband and her pianist Cosme McMoon.
Her husband St Clair Bayfield (Grant) is devoted to her and her ambitions but he is only too aware that she is terrible.
He carefully selects attendees at her concerts so that no one inclined to let the cat out of the bag is there.
There are bribes to writers and critics and when Florence decides to restart her singing lessons St Clair chooses and then coaches new pianist Cosme (Helberg) so that he plays ball with the deception.
The film is not shy about some of St Clair's (and McMoon's) motivations here.
Both men make money from the wealthy woman.
St Clair lives in an apartment paid for by Florence in which he sleeps with his girlfriend Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson) and holds drunken parties.
Although he kisses Florence goodnight he doesn't stay with her and the arrangement (minus the girlfriend) seems agreeable to both.
If it sounds like an awfully sad and pathetic affair worry not.
Although it doesn't shy away from these aspects the movie spends most of its time showing the genuine affection that exists between Florence and St Clair and the burgeoning affection that develops between her and Cosme.
Putting Meryl Streep in a movie is an automatic boost to your chances of making something good but the revelation here is Simon Helberg.
Known best for his role as Howard on tv show "The Big Bang Theory" he all but steals the movie.
His awkward but slyly manipulative (witness his audition scene) Cosme gets the bulk of the laughs outside of Streep's extraordinary singing scenes.
He exists initially as surrogate for the audience with his hands frozen over the keys, mouth open stance when first we hear Florence's um.... talent.
As he comes to know the real woman the relationship becomes the heart of the movie.
Yes, he is making money from her and in reality he didn't achieve any measure of fame beyond that that he gained with Florence but it is clear that his feelings for her are genuine.
Likewise St Clairs.
No one plays the likeable cad like Hugh Grant and he has never been better than he is in this film.
Somehow he remains on side with the audience even when he is secreting a naked Kathleen in a closet in her own home when Florence drops by unannounced.
 |
| Rebecca Ferguson as Kathleen |
Not to say that it doesn't revel in the outrageous awfulness of Florence's singing voice.
To neglect to do so would be like ending "Titanic" before the iceberg strike after all.
Director Frears is very happy to allow Streep to let fly with what is a bang on off-key, toneless reproduction of the real thing and there are many scenes displaying this.
The trailers play this aspect up as a central feature and I freely confess morbid curiosity was as much a drive to me seeing this movie as the chance to see Streep.
I neglected to single her out for praise earlier because at this point it must surely be a given that she is excellent.
It has been clear to me for years that there is simply no role that she cannot take on.
Any lingering doubt disappeared with the 1994 action flick "The River Wild".
Not a great movie but Streep plays an action hero and plays it damned well.
 |
| Director Stephen Frears on set |
This is a character study and a pretty good one.
There are several genuinely touching moments. One late in the piece is a pay-off of sorts for a great performance from Nina Arianda as an abrasive trophy wife.
All in all I enjoyed this movie quite a lot - there is much to like if perhaps not love.
It does feel a little slight like it may have suited a BBC Sunday night playhouse episode rather than a feature but it entertains for all of its duration thanks to some sure direction and a trio of excellent performances.
It is always good to see Rebecca Ferguson ("Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation") on screen albeit in a smaller role.
The movie makes it clear that Florence is a worthy subject for film immortalisation.
No less a figure than David Bowie was apparently a fan of her work and this must have been for reasons other that her talent.
If nothing else this movie serves as a reminder that this woman did much for the music and arts scene in New York at a time when the world was still very much in the balance with World War 2 raging.
Perhaps not such a failure after all?
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