First Take: Florence Foster Jenkins- music was my first love...

SYPNOSIS: The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice

Stephen Frears has given us some very varied work over the years, with Philomena and The Queen being two of his most well known and cherished films. Florence Foster Jenkins looks set to join that elite club of respected British cinema, as it is a very well made comedy that blends the world of the 1940s with the story of Florence, played brilliantly by the legendary Meryl Streep. Hugh Grant also delivers a brilliant performance, potentially one of his best in years, but the real spotlight is Rebecca Ferguson’s Kathleen. To go from playing the female lead in Mission Impossible to playing a minor role like this takes a lot of work, but she pulls it off perfectly. The script delivers laughs throughout, and the ending does pack an emotional punch, but as a whole, this is a very lavish comedy that does exactly what you expect: make singing in front of 3000 people in Carnegie Hall look like easy work.

RATING: 4/5