FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
UK, 2016, 110 minutes, Colour.
Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Fergusson, David Haig, John Sessions, Christian Mc Kay, Alan Corduner.
Directed by Stephen Frears.
Many audiences may have heard of Florence Foster Jenkins over the decades, the wealthy socialite in the 1940s who hired Carnegie Hall for herself to sing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she could not sing and was continually raucously off-key.
This film was one of two based on her story, the other an elaborated fiction, made by the French director Xavier Giannoli, Marguerite, with Catherine Frot. Marguerite is the longer of the films, creating an atmosphere of France in the 1920s, looks at the character of Marguerite and her delusion, her compulsiveness in singing, the adulation of friends and her husband, her unreality and people unable to tell her the truth. Marguerite actually uses quite a number of facts and incidents in the real life of Florence Foster Jenkins.
Stephen Frears has been making films for the best part of 50 years, working in a wide range of genres, both in the US and the UK, and in recent times directing actresses in significant roles like Helen Mirren in The Queen and Judi Dench in Philomena. Here he directs Meryl Streep.
For 40 years Meryl Streep has been able to immerse herself in her roles, and her characters, an extraordinary empathy, and technique which relies on her phrasing, her accents, but also on her ability with her eyes and seemingly insignificant gestures. This is all to the fore here in her portrait of Florence – with the added challenge of actually singing forcefully off-key (while Streep herself has sung in such films as Postcards from the Edge, The Prairie Home Companion and Mamma Mia). Her performance here is certainly up with her best.
There are times when the cinema audience just has to laugh at the cacophony coming from Florence’s mouth, just as so many in her audience laughed, at her private recital which encouraged her to hire Carnegie Hall, wanting to sing for the Armed Forces and giving all the tickets away, her war effort. People flattered her at her recital though many laughed, especially the vamp wife of a financier who had to be dragged out laughing collapsed on the floor but who redeems herself and Carnegie Hall in accosting the audience and urging them to give Florence a chance.
But, there is more to the story of Florence than her terrible singing. As the film progresses, we learn of her first husband, of his communicating illness to her, of her father’s hard attitude towards her, finally inheriting his wealth, of seeing an eager young actor in an audience and attracted to him and marrying him in 1919, their platonic relationship because of her illness, her tolerance of his having an apartment where he could live as he wished after always seeing her to bed in the evening, and his continued devotion and support. They founded the Verdi Club in New York, the film opening with some of their pageants and the enthusiasm of the club members, most of them not as young as they used to be.
Hugh Grant does often seem the same in every film but his screen persona suits his performance as Bayfield, Florence’s ever attentive husband. He and Meryl Streep make a very interesting and lively screen couple.
Then there is Simon Helberg, a diminutive comedian who blows plays the role of Florence’s initially enthusiastic accompanist, Cosme McMoon?, who tries his best, is sometimes aghast, consents to play at Carnegie Hall fearing that this would be the end of his career.
This is a British film, made in England, with a number of British character actors in American roles, David Haig very good as the Maestro who encourages Florence in her singing and training, Christian Mc Kay as a hostile reporter from the New York Post, Alan Corduner as the manager of Carnegie Hall, John Sessions as Florence’s doctor. Rebecca Ferguson is Bayfield’s mistress, living in his apartment.
A lot of audiences will simply laugh straight out at Florence and her dreadful singing while others will be self-conscious about it as they sit in the cinema – but, one can’t help laughing even though one wants to be sympathetic, but with so much more shown us about Florence, her character, her enthusiasm for music despite her self-delusion, that the film takes on something of the comic-tragic.
1. Audience awareness of Florence? As a person, her singing?
2. Audience response to her, Meryl Streep’s presence, performance, singing, off key? Florence as a person, her singing, people laughing at her? Her tragedy? How much empathy?
3. The director, his career, noted for substantial women’s roles? The cast, Meryl Streep incarnating a character? Hugh Grant and his style? Simon Helberg and his comic touches, piano playing?
4. New York, 1944, the atmosphere of the city, during the war, the streets, people, costumes and decor? The background score?
5. Meryl Streep as Florence, Hugh Grant and his British style and aplomb as her husband? The supporting cast? A British film?
6. New York society, wealth and traditions, bankers, prosperous marriages? Society hostesses? The Verdi Club? The performance of the pageants, Bayfield and his reciting Hamlet, his acting background? The Stephen Foster pageant and Florence as an angel giving him inspiration? The final scene of the Valkyries and Wagner? Florence and her husband enjoying the pageants? The eager responses of the audiences? The reviews?
7. The marriage, the explanations, Florence and her first husband, the first night and getting syphilis, his infidelities, her illness, the mercury and arsenic cures? Needing hospital care, possibilities for collapse? The story about seeing Bayfield in the audience, his smile? Marrying him, loving him, his devotion to her? A non-sexual marriage because of her illness? Her knowing about his apartment, not knowing about Kathleen? Her surviving into an old age, thriving on love and devotion?
8. Her manner, uppercrust, studious, fastidious, her staff and their care? The debilitation? The pageants, the clubs, her society friends and their getting older? The visit from Toscanini and her giving him money, supporting the concert, hearing Lily Pons in Carnegie Hall, the audience hearing beautiful singing before hearing Florence? Her vocal coach, the detail, her voice, the exercises, his flattering her? Her paying him well? His being in Florida to avoid her recital?
9. The auditions for a pianist, the intense pianist and her nerves and passion, introduction to Cosme, his gentle playing, relaxing, her confiding in him, Bayfield’s attention, dismissing the other applicants and their mutterings about him? His accepting the job, more payment than he was expecting?
10. Bayfield, his charm, Hugh Grant and aplomb, absolute devotion to Florence, using her nickname of Bunny, his look of devotion, 25 years, seeing her to bed, fulfilling her every whim, his apartment, the sexual outlet with Kathleen, her complaints yet her concern about Florence, taking her on a golf weekend and her enjoying it? The night together – after the party, his being the life of the party with his dancing? Florence arrive arriving, their covering, with Cosme?
11. Kathleen as a person, love for Bayfield, her care for Florence, the concert, her friend, the playwright, and trying to control him, the celebration afterwards, their being caught? The drink the club, Bayfield and his defending Florence against the mockery – her threats and her leaving?
12. The recital, the audience hearing Florence’s voice, the reaction of the audience, laughter, the blonde young wife, her laughing, being dragged from the auditorium? The playwright, laughing, calling out bravo, the effect on the rest of the audience?
13. The selling of the tickets, Bayfield and his being in charge? The journalist from the New York Post, wanting a ticket, Bayfield and the offer for paying him off, his refusal?
14. Cosme, the effect of the experience, supporting Mme Florence? In the recital, the party afterwards, the gay approach, his drinking, staying the night?
15. Florence, the decision to make the record, Cosme accompanying her, her thinking the first take was perfect, the wide distribution, being played on the radio, the response of the Armed Forces?
16. Bayfield, the golf weekend, Florence alone, lonely, going out to distribute the record, visiting the apartment, clamouring to get in? Everything
covered to deceive her?
17. Her booking Carnegie Hall, Cosme and his fear, the preparation, Bayfield and the press? The tickets given to the Armed Forces? Bayfield encouraging Florence that the forces needed music in time of war?
18. The concert, her delay, the frustration of the manager, the crowds, Cosme arriving late? Her being encouraged, singing, the laughter, the catcalls? The blonde wife and her yelling at the forces, getting support for Florence, the positive response? Her singing from The Magic Flute?
19. The New York Post journalist, walking out, his devastating article, Bayfield and Cosme buying up all the copies of the paper? The rest of the reviews favourable, Florence reading them and being happy?
20. Florence and her friends at lunch, the man with the Post, Bayfield and Cosme arguing to buy it from him? $50? Florence and her going to the ladies’ room, going out, hearing the explanation about the sale of the papers, finding one in the rubbish, reading it, dismayed that people laughed at her, bewildered in the traffic, collapsing in the foyer?
21. In bed, her collapse, dying, Bayfield and his loving words, his lying with her?
22. The final credits, the photos of the real Florence, Bayfield and Cosme? The records and Cosme’s playing and Florence’s voice?
