Florence Foster Jenkins

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Stephen Frears/Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Allan Corduner, Christian McKay, and David Haig

Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944), socialite and patron to the New York music scene, occupies a very peculiar place in American music history. A one-time pianist, Jenkins' inherited wealth allowed her to extend a philanthropic hand to musicians; including world-renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini. But she is known mostly for her concerts, which she performed without any ability to sing or carry a tune. Jenkins was so comically inept as a singer as to produce guffaws in listeners. Jenkins' dream of performing in her own concerts in her later years is the focus of director Stephen Frears' comedy/drama Florence Foster Jenkins; a funny film replete with a subtle, tragic edge. Frears' film follows on the heels of Xavier Giannoli's Marguerite; another 2016 release based on Jenkins' life. While Giannoli's film opts for a darker narrative, Frears' film allows the inherent humor of Jenkins' musical endeavors to find expression without succumbing to farce.

Set in New York in early 1944, the film opens in a small, theatrical setting where a gathering of socialites who call themselves The Verdi Club enjoy a musical play hosted by Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) and her husband St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant). It's clear from the scene how key a role music plays in Jenkins' life and how her wealth makes musical opportunities for others and herself possible.

At home among her posh surroundings, St. Clair's devotion to Florence is very conspicuous as he tends to her frail health. A startling moment when she removes her wig to expose her smooth, bald head reveals the seriousness of her illness whose cause is later made known to the audience.

Inspired by her ardor for music, Florence becomes infatuated with the idea of furthering her singing lessons; a pursuit her loving and accommodating husband supports. Needing a pianist to accompany her lessons, Florence and St. Clair arrange auditions with local musicians. In one of the more amusing moments in the film, we see the audition itself, which begins with a loud, over-zealous pianist whose cacophonous playing leaves Florence and St. Clair visibly pained. Following after is Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg; whose comedic performance almost hijacks the movie); whose ingratiating version of Saint Saens' The Swan delights Florence while leaving the other pianists outside the door angry and bewildered. Their reaction will most likely elicit a solid chuckle from the audience.

Having selected Cosme, Florence's voice lessons begin in earnest. Her teacher, Carlo Edwards (David Haig) coaxes the first sounds from Florence, which are laughably off-key and almost ear-splitting. The reaction on Cosme's face when he first hears her voice is worth the price of admission alone. The scene becomes surreally funny as Carlo resorts to vigorous, physical contact in an attempt to draw musical sounds from her voice. While Carlo's praise for Florence's awful singing is puzzling, Cosme can barely contain his dismay. When Florence asks Carlo if she is ready for a recital, he offers his enthusiastic assent. Later, following the lesson, Carlo's real estimation of Florence's voice is expressed during his conversation with St. Clair in the lobby of the apartment building. When St. Clair asks Carlo whether he will attend the recital, Carlo mentions an engagement in Florida. But when St. Clair asks when his Florida trip might be, Carlo asks him when the recital might take place. That exchange is one of the funniest I've seen in movie this year.

St. Clair's efforts to protect Florence's feelings also leaves him defensive when he hears her voice being slighted. St. Clair takes mild offense to Carlo's reaction and is skeptical of Cosme's awkwardly-expressed comment about Florence's voice being "flat."

As Florence prepares for her first recital, St. Clair's feverish attempts to fill seats with sympathetic patrons proves exhausting and trying, while Cosme expresses his fears and doubts about his ability to accompany his patron onstage.

What gives Frear's film depth are the character's fascinating backstories, which sometimes provide clues to their motivations. We learn that St. Clair was once an aspiring actor on the stage who never achieved greatness. Florence mentions at one point how she protected him from scathing reviews--an ironic comment, considering St. Clair goes out of his way to shield his wife from equally scathing reviews of her singing.

Though we marvel at St. Clair's devotion to his wife, the sobering reality of their relationship becomes evident when we see him depart from the apartment late nights after he lulls Florence to sleep with his Shakespearean recitations. We see St. Clair visiting his girlfriend; Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson) at an apartment he keeps. At this point in the film, we don't know if St. Clair's nightly visits are mere philandering or if they serve another purpose. In time we learn that St. Clair is Florence's second husband; her first marriage having proved pernicious in more ways than one. It becomes known to the audience that her debilitating illness is a result of her first marriage, which leaves Florence and St. Clair unable to enjoy or consummate conjugal relations.

St. Clair's desperate attempt to shield Florence from negative criticism is dramatized in a scene following her recital, where he buys all the copies of the New York Post. The paper features a damning review of her concert, written by St. Clair's nemesis; Earl Wilson (Christian McKay). We see the lengths St. Clair goes to protect Florence in a scene shortly thereafter, when he and Cosme negotiate the purchase of a copy of the Post from an angry cafe patron while she sits among her friends nearby, unaware of what is taking place.

The film builds to Florence's climactic performance at Carnegie Hall; an idea she first proposes to St. Clair after sitting in the illustrious venue. St. Clair tries to discourage her, citing her failing health but his reservations are overcome by his love for Florence and his indefatigable quest to secure her happiness. Fearing the ridicule that might come from a Carnegie Hall performance, Cosme nearly abandons Florence until St. Clair convinces him otherwise. The concert itself, a tense sequence, is full of surprises and terrific moments.

In less talented hands, Florence Foster Jenkins might have been a sentimental farce but Frears, never one for maudlin narratives, ensures the comedy has a dark flip-side. Underneath the comic travesty of Jenkins' singing is a tragedy Frears courts but doesn't asphyxiate the audience with.

Though Frears is a reliable talent behind the camera, the film's power is generated by some stellar performances. Anyone who has read my blog in the past is familiar with my distaste for Meryl Streep but I have to say she acquitted herself well as Jenkins; making a potentially pathetic person sympathetic and quite human. But the film's real treasures are Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg; who are very funny; showing their comedic flare in many scenes but they manage to tease out their respective character's sadder natures.

The film offers no clues as to how and why Jenkins believed her singing to be stage-worthy but what is axiomatic was her love for music, which St. Clair explains to Florence's doctor as the key to her longevity. Frears' film never mocks Jenkins but shows her admirable qualities; her resilience and blithe indifference to the more tragic aspects of her life.

Florence Foster Jenkins is an enjoyable film and one that seems even better in retrospect. Its main character isn't a buffoon but someone with darker corners than one might expect. The film also proves there is more to the facts we read in the end titles or that can be heard on her record, which has become quite popular with music lovers. Jenkins certainly was an oddity but one worth discovering in a two-hour film.