Taglines: The inspiring true story of the world’s worst singer.
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice. The real Florence Foster Jenkins was one of those larger than life characters you just couldn’t make up. No wonder, then, that she has inspired numerous theatrical and cinematic productions. Preparing to play the “diva of din” on stage in Peter Quilter’s 2005 play Glorious!, Maureen Lipman called her story “one of triumph over embarrassment”, and insisted that one must “learn to sing well before you can sing badly”.
Earlier this year, Catherine Frot won a best actress César for playing a fictionalised version of “the first lady of the sliding scale” in Marguerite, a film whose central character’s name, “Marguerite Dumont”, alludes to the longstanding comic foil of the Marx Brothers’ movies. Frears himself says that Jenkins “reminded me of Margaret Dumont… just preposterous, but touching at the same time”, an assessment that perfectly sums up both Streep’s performance and the overall tone of Frears’s film.
Florence Foster Jenkins is a British-biographical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Nicholas Martin. The film stars Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who became an opera singer notorious for her lack of singing skills. Other cast members include Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Nina Arianda, and Rebecca Ferguson. Filming began in May 2015, and the premiere was held in London on 12 April 2016.
Florence Foster Jenkins
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, Nina Arianda, Neve Gachev, Nina Arianda, Josh O’Connor
Screenplay by: Stephen Frears
Production Design by: Alan MacDonald
Cinematography by: Danny Cohen
Film Editing by: Valerio Bonelli
Costume Design by: Consolata Boyle
Art Direction by: Gareth Cousins, Christopher Wyatt
Music by: Alexandre Desplat
MPAA Rating: None.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: August 12, 2016
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