Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Movie Review

She found immortality, just not for the reasons she hoped.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 28, 2016

Big dreams aren't big news except when they yield either big successes or big failures. Most kids dream of playing big league baseball, but it's really only those precious few who wind up in the Hall of Fame or, on the other side of the coin, the can't miss, "this guy can walk on water" prospect who washes out fast and sits back watching some no-name who pitches in mediocrity for 20 years because he was born left-handed. It's the extremes that people remember, for better or for worse, and that's where the story of Florence Foster Jenkins lands, on the extreme, but on the "wrong" side of the ledger. A singer whose gift wasn't her voice but rather her persistence, she entertained audiences in her own unique way, fought off debilitating illness and criticism, and lived her dream, badly to the ears of most but battling for that dream to the end and living it as best she could.

Showtime.

Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) loves to sing. She just can't. Well, she can sing, she just can't sing well. At all. But that doesn't stop her from pushing forward with her musical "career," using her money and influence -- mostly money -- to keep up appearances and keep on working with her vocal coach (David Haig) and hire an upstart pianist with big dreams named Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) to help her along. Jenkins is also a sick woman, struck with syphilis decades ago and, against all odds, living much longer than the doctors say she should. She's married to St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), but her illness keeps them from enjoying bedroom intimacy; he finds pleasure on the side with a much younger and healthier mistress named Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson). Jenkins works hard to advance her singing career, while her husband works harder to promote her and keep her safe from the ridicule of her audience.

Florence Foster Jenkins is a movie that's light on its feet, approachable in its charm, and finely tuned to balance its extremes. The movie, directed by Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen), finds a pleasant middle ground in which it's OK to make light of, or chuckle at, the title character's...shortcomings...as a singer while saving the meatier laughs for the world and people around her. It's acceptable to smile at her performance because it's done with a lightness and charm that walks a tightrope between crudely exploring the life of a singer who cannot sing while having a bit of innocent fun with the situation on a larger scale, as her work impacts those more serious and professional people around her, those in business relationships with her and those who are a little closer to the person behind the joke. The movie makes sure to give its audience enough of an outlet to find the humor in Jenkins' performance but, more important, find the tenderness in the heart and the passion in the soul. The movie understands its story demands the point-and-laugh embracing of a flaw, but at the same time it understands the need to embrace all that's good about the character, too, which it does with as much passion as Jenkins displays on stage.

Part -- almost all, really -- of why it works so well comes courtesy of Meryl Streep's tip-top performance of the poorly performing artist. Streep embraces it wholeheartedly, from the absurdity of the practice sessions and stage performances on through to the finer point character details that round her into a real person, not just a comic prop. Streep has proven her mettle time and again as one of the great multipurpose actors of her, or any, generation, and while this may not be her crowning achievement, it does show her range as well as any other picture in her filmography, capturing not simply a character essence at a couple of extremes but working through a middle ground of nuanced acting that brings the character to life in a way that simply stumbling through a few songs could never hope to achieve. Certainly, though, the shrieking singing highlights the performance on the macro level; one must wonder if Streep had to work to sing this bad or if she's like most people who really cant carry a tune but gives it her most over-the-top all, anyway.

Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The digitally photographed Florence Foster Jenkins arrives on Blu-ray with a proficient and largely technically flawless 1080p transfer. While certain skin tones occasionally appear a bit too flat and pasty, much of the skin texturing in the movie is nicely precise, finding a satisfying level of depth and intimacy in pores, scruff, and wrinkles. Period clothing and costumes are also well defined down to the finer points, as are some of the more richly appointed furnishings and set pieces around the film. With UHD getting established and eyes becoming more accustomed to a higher level of detail, the 1080p transfer's limitations are becoming more apparent, as they are here. That said, for a basic 1080p issue, the image's detailing is perfectly acceptable. Colors, too, are healthy and rich, naturally vibrant and striking with excellent balance, nuance, and diversity. Black levels and skin tones are fine. Light aliasing is evident in a couple of spots, very finely on Cosmé McMoon's jacket during his interview, for example, but it's mostly at a level that only bears mentioning, not to a debilitating or even all that noticeable extent. Noise is practically nonexistent and other source or encode flaws are minuscule at worst. This is a classy, high end Blu-ray presentation from Paramount.

Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Florence Foster Jenkins sings its way onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's largely front-heavy, particularly in its musical delivery. Width is welcoming along the front side, but the surrounds don't carry more than a cursory load. Musical clarity is excellent, however, both instrumentally and lyrically, and even all of Jenkins' piercing, uneven shrieks play with remarkable clarity that truly enhance the "performances." Crowd laughter and applause is a little fuller and a bit wider, too, with a bit more spread to the further ends and depths of the stage. Music, cheer, and dance in chapter nine offer what is arguably the fullest and liveliest scene in the movie. Light street-level atmospherics are pleasantly rich and detailed, again with a little more in the way of surround information. Dialogue is clear, firmly and naturally positioned in the center, and plays with consistent, natural prioritization.

Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Florence Foster Jenkins contains several featurettes and deleted scenes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• "Ours Is A Happy World" (1080p, 5:01): Cast and crew quickly tell Jenkins' story (and the stories of the key players around her), set to clips from the film.
• The Music and Songs of Florence (1080p, 4:01): Cast and crew remember hearing the real Jenkins recordings, capturing the spirit of the performances, and recreating them for the film, including piano and Streep's vocal performance.
• Designing the Look (1080p, 3:43): A quick glimpse into the film's costuming and set design and recreating decades-old New York in the UK.
• From Script to Screen (1080p, 4:18): A discussion of the script and the qualities that make the movie a success.
• Florence Foster Jenkins World Premiere (1080p, 1:58): A short montage of the movie's red carpet gala and interview clips.
• Q&A with Meryl Streep (1080p, 16:06): The actress sits down with Costume Designer/American Theater Wing Chairman William Ivey Long to discuss the film. From Director's Guild Theater, June 16, 2016.
• Live at Carnegie Hall (1080p, 10:09): A fun history of Carnegie Hall with Gino Francesconi, Director, Carnegie Archives and The Rose Museum, and Donald Collup, Jenkins Documentarian.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 6:08 total runtime): Maestro Orlando!, Backstage Valkyries and Mrs. Vanderbilt, Running Errands with Biassy, and Queen of the Night.

Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Florence Foster Jenkins is a fun little movie and a reminder about the power of dreaming big and holding on, even through the negative whirlwinds and the inevitable criticism that comes with doing anything at any level of success or even just notoriety. A cheery but grounded picture that tells the story of big hearted stubbornness and the power of the dream and the never-give-up human spirit, it finds a pleasing cadence as it explores one of the 20th centuries most interesting icons of song, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to a goal. Paramount's Blu-ray is well done, featuring high end video and audio to go along with a nice little collection of bonus materials. Recommended.