This looked like an enjoyable and uplifting tale about a woman who can't sing and yet brings joy to people because of her pure and unbridled enthusiasm for music. That enthusiasm just makes you want to stand up and cheer. But unfortunately, this is real life and the movie delivers on that instead.
The movie is about the titular heroine Florence Foster Jenkins (played with her usual aplomb by Meryl Streep), a VERY rich New York socialite who has had a lifetime love for music and loves to sing. There is only one problem, she has absolutely no talent and a tin ear. Her actor husband (Hugh Grant), who loves her deeply, has kept her surrounded by sycophants and pays off people to praise her performances. And while he does love her, he has a girlfriend on the side that Florence doesn't know about. One day, Florence makes a private recording for her friends that somehow gets on the radio. It instantly becomes a big hit, especially with soldiers returning home from WWII. What she doesn't know is they are all laughing at her. She decides to put on a free concert at Carnegie Hall for them which starts disastrously until everyone begins to appreciate that she is singing her heart out. And while everybody is still snickering, the concert ends with thunderous applause.
So, the movie advertises itself that it is uplifting, that despite this poor woman's obvious lack of talent, people will still love her. However, like real life, this is not meant to be. But what makes this movie incredible is the beauty and intimacy of those small moments we share with our family and friends. That despite everything else that happens to us in our lives, it is in those small moments of humanity, of kindness shared, that make life worth living. Despite Hugh Grant's character being somewhat of a heel, he truly does care and love Florence, and does everything he can to make her dreams of singing come true. Some would say that it's cruel, playing an elaborate hoax on her, but she goes along with it, as well as all of her friends. Her circle of friends know how much she loves what she does, and they wholeheartedly support her, even though they know she is terrible. We can all identify when we have to tell the little white lie to someone to make them feel better. This movie shows just how important those bits of humanity are. My only real complaint with the movie is that the tone is very confusing. At first, they set the movie up as if it is a comedy, to laugh at Florence's ineptitude. But then it switches tone to where we become complicit in the lie everyone tells her. Because we know just how much she loves what she does, we end up rooting for her and feel proud of her when she finally sings at Carnegie Hall. Perhaps there is a deeper message here. Always pursue your dream, or whatever makes you happy, and damn anyone who tries to take that joy from you.
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