Meryl Streep, as usual, breezes her way through this performance as Florence Foster Jenkins a socialite in New York’s high society of the 1940’s who believed she was a talented opera singer but was ridiculed for being tone deaf yet she was very popular due to the amusement her singing provided. This movie focuses on her later life as she is shielded from the reality of her delusion by her husband and failed thespian actor St.Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and ably assisted by her, initially reluctant, accompanying pianist Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg)

Bayfield spends all his time shielding Jenkins and ensure that all of her performances are all in front of either paid off members of the musical circles who are more than happy to play the pretence and take the cash in exchange for good reviews in the newspapers, or close friends who are happy to play along with the facade which culminates in her insistence to put on a show at Carnegie Hall for war veterans where Bayfield cannot control the proceedings and thus opens the door for all and sundry to see the realism behind her questionable talents.

While the material may not seem like the most intriguing of subject matter, director Stephen Frear, who previously worked with Streep on The Queen, has put together an enjoyable and sentimental movie which is aided by great performances by it’s three leads who grab your attention and ensure that despite the potential for the film being a bit of a one trick pony there is a certain charm to the movie that you can’t help but be entertained by and despite the main selling point being the comic irony of the situation there is a sub theme which is tinged with a certain tragedy but is handled superbly without ever dragging the story into depressing waters.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10