Based on a true story: in 1944, the title character (played by Meryl Streep) is wealthy patroness of the arts in New York. She has a chaste marriage to St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) who has a secret relationship on the side but adores Florence to the point of being co-dependent. He and others encourage her to take singing lessons and perform despite the fact that she cannot sing.
There is a charm and entertainment value in this movie and how can it not be considering the talent involved. In addition to engaging performances by Streep and Grant (plus Simon Helberg as Florence's pianist accompanist), the movie is well directed by the brilliant and seasoned Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Launderette", "Dangerous Liaisons", "The Grifters", "The Queen", "Philomena").
To take on this true story is quite challenging. As fiction, it would be easily dismissed as unbelievable. Yet again, truth is stranger than fiction here. While the viewer is taken through the events, we are given too little information about St Clair and others for setting Florence up for possible humiliation. She seems spared by her naivete and some occasional sitcom-like attempts to keep the truth from her.
It's hard to pin down what exactly is missing in a movie with such potential. Maybe, it needed an approach that is at least as surreal as the story itself. Plus more understanding of some very unusual characters. By the end, it felt like it could only go so far despite the talent involved.
There is a charm and entertainment value in this movie and how can it not be considering the talent involved. In addition to engaging performances by Streep and Grant (plus Simon Helberg as Florence's pianist accompanist), the movie is well directed by the brilliant and seasoned Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Launderette", "Dangerous Liaisons", "The Grifters", "The Queen", "Philomena").
To take on this true story is quite challenging. As fiction, it would be easily dismissed as unbelievable. Yet again, truth is stranger than fiction here. While the viewer is taken through the events, we are given too little information about St Clair and others for setting Florence up for possible humiliation. She seems spared by her naivete and some occasional sitcom-like attempts to keep the truth from her.
It's hard to pin down what exactly is missing in a movie with such potential. Maybe, it needed an approach that is at least as surreal as the story itself. Plus more understanding of some very unusual characters. By the end, it felt like it could only go so far despite the talent involved.