Review of Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) by Dave C — 29 Dec 2016

There are many aspects to this movie that made it enjoyable. On the surface, it's an amusing story of a delusional woman, however it has much deeper themes. It is more a movie about the power and beauty of music and how devotion completely transcends imperfection.

Florence Foster Jenkins is a socialite and philanthropist who through her love of music thinks she can sing. The amusing part is that she is a dreadful singer. Her husband is completely devoted and goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure she continues to believe she can sing. Her accompanist is a superb pianist, who is at first amused, but eventually looks through her failing. Florence sings because music makes her happy and she believes music brings joy to others. The climax of the film has Florence giving a concert at Carnegie Hall for servicemen. It's in this that all the rich themes of the movie collide.

Another amazing performance from Meryl Streep, magnificently supported by Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg.

Highly recommended.