Florence Foster Jenkins 2016

The film begins in New York City in 1944 with an evening's entertainment being put on by and for the Verdi Society, an arts appreciation club founded and financed by wealthy socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep in yet another Oscar-worthy performance). A series of tableaux of famous depictions in art are being presented, narrated by St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant in amazingly good form), Jenkins common-law husband, manager and, as we see later, meticulously devoted protector.

We first see Jenkins when she descends from the ballroom's ceiling as a costumed Muse of Inspiration for frustrated composer Stephen Foster, to the oohs and ahs of the admiring audience. Dainty and elegant Jenkins is decidedly not, but she is famous for her outlandish costumes and her performances are always sold out, a fact which makes it easy for Bayfield to carefully select her audiences so that "No mockers and no scoffers!" are allowed.

The highly talented cast are, in a word, marvelous. Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt, The Iron Lady) as always, delivers a masterful turn as Jenkins, giving her subtle shades of depth that make what would in lesser hands have been a mere comical character into one of great sympathy and even admiration