Review: Florence Foster Jenkins – You’ve Never Sounded Better

Florence Foster Jenkins is a biographic dramedy, based on the life of a New York socialite, during wartime in 1944. Florence has always dreamed of becoming an opera singer. Her biggest goal? To perform at Carnegie Hall. But there are complications. Florence has delusions of grandeur, but more importantly, she simply can’t sing.

After conductor Arturo Toscanini stops by her house to solicit a symphony donation, Florence attends the event that nowadays could easily be typed as “an evening at the opera” on the invitation. On her way home, she confesses to her husband that she’d like to take singing classes again and needs a pianist. Enter Mr. Cosme McMoon, (The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg), who deserves all the laurels for his performance.

McMoon is all smiles when he’s selected as her pianist and couldn’t be any happier the following day when he returns for this grand moment. So, it begins. McMoon plays the first notes, extremely excited for being part of this new journey. After all, McMoon may know Florence as a New York socialite at the present time. But Florence had also confessed to him, during his audition, that she has lived an entire life dedicated to the arts. Also present is her vocal coach, Carlo Edwards, the assistant conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. Everything is in place, and everybody is ready. McMoon plays those first notes and cues Florence.

What follows next is the biggest surprise McMoon could not have expected. His charming smile fades gradually at every note Florence cannot reach. By the end of the first rehearsal, Edwards grabs her hand, looks her in the eyes and from the bottom of his heart, declares, “There is work to be done. But you’ve never sounded better.” At this point, I couldn’t help but think of all the artists out there, also trying their best, believing they can find their place in the sun.

Florence believes in her talent unconditionally, which gives her strength to move forward with her goal, even recording an album. But how can she go on with no talent? How can her husband allow her to go on when he knows better? It’s a double-edged sword that was subtly transported onto the big screen, but still quite painful to watch. It also becomes a story about when money talks, you’d better listen. And people around Florence definitely do… except for the New York Post. We can all relate to what unfolds next as little hints are dropped here and there about each character.

Anyone can easily say that Florence is a movie about the world’s worst opera singer ever who sold out Carnegie Hall in 1944, before she died, making her dream come true. It’s also a story about “money talks,” “staying true to oneself”, “making dreams come true.” Meryl Streep as Florence and Hugh Grant as her husband, St. Clair, look formidable. I imagine that having someone who’s already bad, making something look bad won’t work. It’ll only be a disaster. However, I can only imagine that it takes someone with excellence in acting to make someone look bad interesting enough to watch and be intrigued. Meryl Streep did that, graciously.

At the end of the film, still in the darkness of the theater, there I was pondering… Florence raises an important question to all of us: “How far do we go in the pursuit of our dreams?” Furthermore, do we have what it takes to get there? Or, is it nothing more than just a wish upon a star?

Having said that, allow me to add that McMoon is the one to watch. This little guy becomes big every time he appears on the screen. He’s the comic relief for those moments that could have been just another cliche. He also reminded me of what my professor in directing never got tired of repeating in class, “Less is more!” The less you perform, the more you give. What did he mean with that? Helberg found the perfect balance for every moment, that a simple facial gesture is worth a thousand words and proving my professor’s statement was true. For that, I couldn’t be happier.