It’s rare you find a Netflix film that goes beyond simple entertainment. An utterly satisfying film called Florence Foster Jenkins is available on Netflix UK and its a treat. Lets discuss.
Plot
In the 1940s, New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) dreams of becoming a great opera singer. Unfortunately, her ambition far exceeds her talent. The voice Florence hears in her head is beautiful, but to everyone else it is quite lousy. Her husband St.
Clair goes to extreme lengths to make sure his wife never finds out how awful she truly is. When Florence announces her plans for a concert at Carnegie Hall, St. Clair soon realizes that he’s facing his greatest challenge yet.
The film is based on Ttue events during 1944. Throughout the film you feel a Fabulous homage to its history, sets and costumes. We begin learning more about Florence Foster Jenkins during a backstage scene with Hugh Grant in the opening scene. We know that Music is her life. In between scenes with her, we get to listen to jazz music as we take a ride through the streets of New York, the night life scenes are a treat.
Of course Meryl Streep is admirable as the lead singer who cant sing, yet we find ourselves laughing with her not at her. Alongide her, we have Hugh Grant doing some of his best work in years and the pianist in this wonderful trio is The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg, who immediately appears to be a charming and talented pianist when we are first introduced to his character.
I think he represents the musician in all of us, who once dreamed of playing on the big stage, yet he too carries the nerves that go hand in hand with this type of musical performance and we cant blame him.
The film is shot by Danny Cohen who lensed such films as The Kings Speech, Les Miserable, The Room and more. Alongside him, we have Consolata Boyle working on the magnificent costume design, all to make the film immersive.
The film begins to take off when we are introduced to Simon Helberg’s character who is auditioning for the iconic piano role to accompany Mrs Jenkins. We immmedialey like him with his charming presence and talent. Mrs Jenkins loves his talent.
The Film edits are long and not short, allowing us to soak in all of the character drama and stories. There is a respect and love for musical performance. There is a shared love for performance. As much as the film is about music, its about love and relationships.
Throughout the film, there is a lovely and delicate use of spectacle. Hugh Grant’s character acts as the anchor, binding the relationships between Rebecca Ferguson and Mrs Jenkins. The music can be seen as a companion to the characters, as if its ia blanket to retreat when life gets tough.
It does question what love is and I think the film asks questions from the audience about this theme. Yet the film manages to find heart. The last finale beautiful concludes the theme of acceptance and you will have to watch it to understand it.
If anything the film will leave audiences with a smile on their face and perhaps a greater admiration for their relationships.
The reviews for the film were universally positive, scoring a high 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and Marc Kermode praising the film as well.
Streaming
The film is available on Netflix UK.
Author Bio
Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football.
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