Set in 1944 and based on a true story, ageing heiress Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) is a grande dame of the New York social scene, patron of classical music and founder of the very proper and refined Verdi Club. She lives for music and her doting husband, St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) careful curates her performances and life.
We are introduced to Florence performing on stage hanging from the ceiling dressed as the “Angel of Inspiration” and, right from the start, the audience laughs uproariously at her antics. As soon as Florence opens her mouth to sing, we discover that she is an appalling singer. St Clair carefully chooses who will attend her performances, favouring the elderly, deaf and those who are desperate to attend so that they fit in with the upper class.
There are plenty of belly laughs for the cinema-going audience as we witness her performances and the on-screen reactions of Jenkins’ audiences, but the entire movie is not done as slapstick. Director Stephen Frears and writer Nicholas Martin deftly manage the balance between comedy and pathos to describe Florence’s story – why she loves music and wants to sing, her marriage, and her state of mind.
Simon Helberg, better known as Howard Wolowitz from TV’s The Big Bang Theory, has a wonderful role as Cosme McMoon, Florence’s pianist – uncertain, career-oriented and overwhelmed to start with. Hugh Grant plays what is, for him, a relatively standard role of the likable English rogue with a heart but, naturally, it is Meryl Streep who steals the show with her deliberately appalling singing, emotion and rose-tinted view of reality. She has some wonderful one-liners, such as when she explains to Cosme McMoon about his heavy workload accompanying her, “I work very hard: I study one hour per day.”
The film flows inexorably onwards from Florence’s decision halfway through the film to perform at Carnegie Hall to an audience of thousands – will anyone attend, will it actually happen, will she be a laughingstock? We look forward to it with a mixture of dread, empathy and concern.
The scenery, with the gorgeous art deco architecture and furnishings, are a wonder to behold, as are Florence’s dresses and jewellery – rich, over-the-top and fitting with the times.
With so many laughs and an engaging story, it’s not just something to take your mum to – there were a range of ages and people in the audience, from goths to grannies, and all were enthralled and amused. You know that a movie is entertaining when you walk out with a smile on your face and notice that everyone else is walking out smiling, laughing or perfecting their own version of Florence’s singing – and that singing could be heard the whole way down Rundle Street!
Reviewed by Michelle Baylis
Rating out of 10: 7
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