Florence Foster Jenkins: One Woman's Passion for Music

Most of the time my movie adventures are with my husband, relatives, or friends, but once in awhile I get to enjoy a good film by myself. To some this may be odd, but there is something about seeing a movie by myself that makes me happy.  Usually on these rare occasions, the movie ends up being an indy or unique film that I really enjoy.  This movie was definitely the latter.

Florence Foster Jenkins was an heiress who had a passion for music.  She lived for it and made sure to fund it and support it at all times.  It was often you would find her surrounded by musical geniuses such as Sinatra.  She loved it so much that she aspired to be an Opera singer, but had no idea how much her vocal skills were lacking.  This is probably because her husband did everything he could to ensure his wife had a constant group of supporters and rather charmed life.  You see, Florence contracted a disease from her first husband and was unable to have children.  Her current husband, played by the charming Hugh Grant, was a devoted supporter of his wife.  He paid good money for everyone around her to cheer her on and make her believe she was far more talented than she actually was.  This usually tended to work out well, but went too far when Florence found a way to sing at a well-known opera house in New York.  Her husband was terrified of what would happen once an audience filled with people who didn't know of Florence's voice nor the appropriate response that her other supporters had been accustomed to.  He also caught wind that a reporter would be attending this event.  He tried convincing her not to go on, but couldn't break her heart and tell her why, so the show went on and you'll just have to see it to find out if her singing pulled through after all.

What I loved about this movie was that is showed the importance of being compassionate for others.  It is true, this woman had the equivalent sound of nails on a chalkboard, but was it worth crushing her spirits when she did't have much else that was important to her besides music?  She had this image of a successful woman with musical talent, but in reality she had a sexually transmitted disease, no children, and a sort of arrangement where her husband spent his days with her but went home to his girlfriend at night.  It is really sad when thinking about it, but when you see her surrounded by those she loves and music, you see why everyone acts as they do.  They do it for their love of Florence.  It was a witty movie with lots of spirit and I loved the decade it represented.  If you are a fan of the early-mid 1900's, you'll love this movie.