(This is another film review I wrote back in August. I know I am posting stuff that most have already seen, but like another Streep character has said, "No excuses. No apologies!" Also, with some Golden Globes and Oscar nominations, if you haven't seen it, get on it.)
Love and Devotion to the Worst Singer in the World
“People may say I can’t sing,” said
Madame Florence. “But they cannot say
that didn’t sing.” And sing she
did. With all her heart and soul, she
sang. Unfortunately, as one critic of
her 1944 Carnegie Hall performance very bluntly put it: “She is the worst singer in the
world.” The film, Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep as the title
aria-attacker, and Hugh Grant as her devoted husband, St. Clair Bayfield, is a
story that shows what enthusiasm to one’s passion looks like.
At its very heart, the film chronicles
the last year of Jenkins’ life in New York City. As a founder of several society clubs,
Jenkins had the means and opportunity to influence the music world of New
York. Jenkins revives her dreams of
singing in concert. Soon after hiring a new pianist, Mr. Cosmé McMoon played by
Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg, and
working with the head vocal coach from the Metropolitan Opera House, she finds
confidence in her voice even though the audience and Mr. McMoon enjoy a good
laugh at her expense.
Very quickly, the audience learns
that Bayfield (Grant) has been protecting her ego. He says that he and she
“live in a happy world,” but after Bayfield learns that Jenkins has produced an
record and scheduled a concert at Carnegie Hall without his knowledge, that
happy world is put at risk. With her
voice becoming more and more public, Bayfield fears that the “mockers and
scoffers” will shatter Jenkins’ fragile heart.
One of the most touching things
about this movie is the care and love the entire production takes to laud
Jenkins for her courage and devotion to the world of culture and art. Director, Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Program, The Queen),
would have had a very easy time making a comedy that puts Jenkins at the butt
of the joke. He avoids this trap by creating a tenderness that seeps through every moment
with her, allowing the audience to become another faithful devotee of Jenkins,
hoping along with Bayfield that the dreadful reviews will not be seen. Streep delivers nothing but the best, showing
the audience what true passion for music is.
One of the most striking
performances is from Helberg who, with a quiet and meek persona, mirrors the
audience’s reactions to Jenkins—first, with his discomfort at her skill, then
his loyalty to her as a patron, and finally his love for her as a friend. The most remarkable moment of this affection is
in Mr. McMoon’s studio apartment—Jenkins sitting at the piano, and McMoon
standing at attention by his patron’s side, not out of distress, but out of
respect and a fondness that cannot be put into words.
Florence Foster Jenkins should not
have sung professionally, but what she lacked in talent, she made up for in
passion and courage that would outshine the very greatest of the music
world. It is obvious that the cast and
crew refused to make a joke out of the woman.
They honor her for everything she loved and believed in.
Title:
Florence Foster Jenkins
Release
date: August 12, 2016
Director:
Stephen Frears
Writers:
Nicholas Martin
Stars:
Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg
Rating:
PG – 13
Category:
Biography, Comedy, Drama
Run
Time:1h 51min
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