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

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

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

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Plot Keywords:

singer | singing | heiress | opera singer | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive material.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Florence

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Qwerty Films, Pathé Pictures International, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second film to feature a character played by Meryl Streep performing at Carnegie Hall, the first being Music of the Heart (1999).

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Goofs

In the Carnegie Hall scene (which occurred in 1944), Cole Porter (played by Mark Arnold) walks in without assistance. However he had been crippled in a horseback riding accident in 1937.

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Quotes

St Clair Bayfield: No mockers and no scoffers!

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

User Reviews

If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.

There's something rather wonderful about people who manage to do things incredibly badly - William MacGonagall, the world's worst poet, and Eddie the Eagle Edwards, the world's worst ski-jumper, spring to mind; but Florence Foster Jenkins is in the pantheon as the world's worst singer. I have a CD of the few recordings she made, and not the least remarkable aspect of Meryl Streep's performance is that she superbly captures La Jenkin's extraordinary singing voice. This, however, is only one part of a beautiful performance, in which Streep gives us a touchingly vulnerable Jenkins. I saw this film expecting to laugh - and indeed there are some great comic moments. What I didn't expect, however, was to find myself sympathising with the title character so much, to the extent that I found myself rooting for her - not to give a magnificent recital, but at least to BELIEVE that she had. Hugh Grant plays Jenkins' sort-of husband (they never actually married in real life, though the film implies that they did) and manager. It's a fine performance, and he's lost none of his ease with comic scenes. He also has some heartwarmingly touching scenes in which he gives Jenkins the (platonic) love she is so desperate for, and when he tries to shield her from the truth. Even so, I was never quite sure how to reconcile this side of his character with the double-life he leads without Jenkins' knowledge. Simon Helberg is excellent as Jenkins' much put-upon accompanist, and Nina Arianda provides a good turn as a gold-digger who displays some unexpected heart. Highly recommended.