Florence Foster Jenkins

Biopics have become a mainstay in the Hollywood machine in that a lot of times, truth is stranger than fiction. "Florence Foster Jenkins" is a story based on true events that has an outlandish premise as the characters are quirky and over-the-top. We've seen other biopics, however not quite as remarkable as this one.

Heiress and socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) longs to become an opera singer and star in 1940's New York, despite possessing a horrible singing voice. With the help and encouragement of her husband, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and a talented musician, pianist Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg), she finds a very strange kind of success as a performer and recording artist.
Jenkins' dream was to perform at Carnegie Hall and her husband knew that, so he went out of his way to ensure that her dream was to be carried out, especially considering that she was very sick and was seeking to finish her 'bucket list' while she still has the strength. She even hired a voice coach to help her with her vocal range, but nothing seemed to help. But because everyone simply loved her persona, most either got caught up with extreme respect for her or because of the love they had for her, especially her loving husband St. Clair, they just accepted lack of a voice. 

Others to round out the cast are Rebecca Ferguson as Kathleen, Nina Arianda as Agnes Stark, Stanley Townsend as Phineas Stark, Allan Corduner as John Totten, Christian McKay as Earl Wilson, David Haig as Carlo Edwards, John Sessions as Dr. Hermann, Brid Brennan as Kitty and John Kavanagh as Arturo Toscanini.

This was brilliantly directed by veteran Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Laundrette" '85, "Prick Up Your Ears" '87, "Dangerous Liaisons" '88, "The Grifters" '90, "Hero" '92, "Mary Reilly" '96, "High Fidelity" 2000, "Fail Safe" (TV movie) 2000, "The Queen" '06, "Lay the Favorite" '12, "Philomena" '13, "The Program" '15) plus others and TV. Frears, by his very resume, has this knack of being able to put his characters in situations whereas they are challenged to become different and sometimes even better, and does so with finesse and style. He makes his actors appear to 'be' the characters so it looks as though the actors have become the people they are portraying. It was written by relative newcomer Nicholas Martin who actually only has TV projects to his credit. This is the first theatrical feature film he has written, and because of this fact, it is meticulously written where each character is delineated with clarity and style. This isn't to say there are no problems--a few slow spots and a small bit of choppiness, but there are many seasoned writers out there that would kill to write this talented of a screenplay. And both Streep and Grant had an irresistible chemistry that transcended to an all together different plane-- hey, we're talking Streep! And Grant certainly exceled in this where he just didn't play his usual role one constantly sees him in.

If superb acting, directing and a taught script is something that you can sink your teeth in, this film will be that movie one can revel in. And in this season where silly comedies, big- budget, high adrenaline, high explosive films are all the rage, it's great to see something with better quality that you can revel in and be truly entertained.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                 Rated: PG-13                                  110mins.