Meryl Streep delivered another star-turn in Stephen Frears’ eponymous biopic about opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins. A wealthy New York heiress, Jenkins attempted to become an opera singer in the 1940s despite her horrible singing voice. An injury in her youth deterred that dream. So she sets out to sing her way to Carnegie Hall knowing the only way to get there would be practice practice practice. Her husband supports her venture and the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins playing Carnegie Hall becomes a truly historic event. Frears has a history of bringing strong woman characters to the screen, including Judi Dench’s “Philomena” and Helen Mirren’s Academy Award winning performance as “The Queen”, and “Florence Foster Jenkins” fits right in. Anthony Lane of the New Yorker wrote, “Streep is right there, solidly invested in the folly of Florence’s dreams. When she declares that “music has been, and is, my life,” you believe her.” The film was a modest success at the box office and Meryl Streep received another round of nominations for the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Film Award and Academy Award.
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