I cannot imagine anyone else embodying Florence Foster Jenkins, not because whether or not Meryl Streep captured her essence and spirit; but the level of performance given by Streep was just astounding.
Every time Florence took to the stage, every time she sang off key - it takes a competent singer to sing on stage, but it takes someone next level to deliberately sing off key for an entire song. Streep's performance was amazing.
And I would have to tip my hat off to Hugh Grant. This is the kind of role that he needs to do now at this stage in his career. No more of the blundering English fool, but a serious actor (not in the genre sense) choosing roles that would show off his capability. He was magnetic even beside Streep.
To top it all off, Simon Helberg stood his ground among the greats. Every expression of disbelief discovering Florence's singing voice was not overly done nor comical, but added to the humour of the situation in just the right note. If you are only familiar with his work in "The Big Bang Theory", like me and even though I have seen his minor role in "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip", it would take a while to get used to his character because at first I could not tell whether or not he was being sarcastic - just like his character Howard Wollowitz.
By the end of the movie, you would have fallen in love with Florence and you would root for her not to succeed in the sense of the word, but to be loved by all; and above all else, to be understood. Under the guidance of Stephen Frears, he melted my heart and I just wanted to celebrate the life and music that was Florence Foster.
This movie was definitely one of the best for 2016.
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