Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Nicholas Martin

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Florence Foster Jenkins
Hugh Grant	...	St Clair Bayfield
Simon Helberg	...	Cosmé McMoon
Rebecca Ferguson	...	Kathleen
Nina Arianda	...	Agnes Stark
Stanley Townsend	...	Phineas Stark
Allan Corduner	...	John Totten
Christian McKay	...	Earl Wilson
David Haig	...	Carlo Edwards
John Sessions	...	Dr. Hermann
Brid Brennan	...	Kitty
John Kavanagh	...	Arturo Toscanini
Pat Starr	...	Mrs Vanderbilt
Maggie Steed	...	Mrs James O'Flaherty
Thelma Barlow	...	Mrs Oscar Garmunder

Storyline

Florence Foster Jenkins, an heiress from NYC, always wanted to be a concert pianist and play Carnegie Hall. An injury in her youth deterred that dream, so she sets out to sing her way to Carnegie Hall, knowing the only way to get there would be, "Practice, practice, practice". Her husband supports her venture, and Florence Foster Jenkins' performance at Carnegie Hall becomes a truly historic event.

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Plot Keywords:

bad singing | singing out of tune | concert | 1940s | heiress | 

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Taglines:

The inspiring true story of the world's worst singer.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive material.

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Hugh Grant recites one of Shakespeare's sonnets early on in the film, it is the same sonnet used in Sense and Sensibility where Grant played the lead character, Edward Ferrars.

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Goofs

Earl Wilson was not a music critic for the New York Post; he was a gossip columnist. His actual title was Saloon Editor because his usual beat was the city's nightclubs. Also, the Post is described as both a morning and afternoon paper when it was strictly an afternoon paper then. Its first edition didn't appear on newsstands until about 11:30 a.m. Finally, the copy of the Post as shown is far smaller than its actual size at the time.

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Quotes

Carlo Edwards: Obviously I'll do my utmost to attend the concert, but I'll be away in Florida at some point.
St Clair Bayfield: Oh, right. When?
Carlo Edwards: Let me know when you've fixed a date.

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Connections

Featured in 74th Golden Globe Awards (2017)

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Soundtracks

Ride of the Valkyries
Written by Richard Wagner
Arranged by Terry Davies

User Reviews

A tragic tale about mental illness told on an operatically grand scale.

Genre labels shape your expectations of a movie but they are also manipulated by promoters to influence audience response. Both Marguerite (2016) and Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) are being sold as "hilarious comedies" whereas in reality they both tell a sad story of self-deception and mental frailty, albeit in funny ways. Marguerite is a comedy of manners, while Florence is a tragi- comedy, the genre that shows the sad truth behind the apparently ridiculous. Both films are bio- pics, with one satirising vanity the other telling a tragic tale about a mental illness that is displayed on an operatically grand scale.

Unlike the fictitious Marguerite who is 'loosely based' on the real person, Florence is closely based on the wealthy and generous arts socialite Florence Foster Jenkins who came to public notoriety when she hired Carnegie Hall for her operatic recitals in 1944. Both films (and still available YouTube recordings) show the full force of how badly the real Florence sang, but that's where the similarity ends. Early in the film we learn that Florence (Meryl Streep) has defied medical science by living well beyond the usual lifespan of a syphilis victim, a disease she contracted on marrying when 18 years old. She endured decades of archaic mercury and arsenic medication with progressive loss of mental functions and chronic exhaustion. Her second marriage remained celibate by mutual agreement and her husband (Hugh Grant) was free to have affairs but was devotedly protective of Florence. The cinematic impact of these facts change the film from a satire to a study of pathos and tragedy as Florence is seriously unwell and singing is the only thing keeping her alive.

While Marguerite amplifies the ridiculous as seen from the other side of the Atlantic, Florence is an American-owned story and any ridicule is tempered with compassion. The combined acting virtuosity of icons Streep and Grant will most likely earn the film Academy nominations as these timeless stars are superb in their parts and their chemistry together is wonderful. Top production values are evident in the period set and costumes, and the whole film has an elegant authenticity that underscores the seriousness of mental degeneration, whether its on the stage of Carnegie Hall or elsewhere. Audiences might leave cinemas still chuckling at the singing of Marguerite and Florence, but many will leave Florence with sympathy for her desperate desire to be something that nature made impossible.

Details

Official Sites:

KinoPoisk.ru (Russian) Official site

Country:

UK France

Language:

English German Italian Russian

Release Date:

12 August 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Florence Foster Jenkins

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,601,313, 14 August 2016

Gross USA:

$27,383,770

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,052,787

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé, BBC Films, Pathé Pictures International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1