Florence Foster Jenkins is an adaptation of real events that took place in 1944 in New York City.

Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) is a patron and supporter of the arts, and in particular, music. She arranges performances at various social clubs for others. Her husband, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) has acted as emcee to such events, often providing oratory between acts, and she appears in some of the dramatizations, in non-speaking roles. St. Clair is also her manager, who makes things happen

This isn’t enough for her. She decides she wants to return to performing, which she did when she was becoming an adult. She wants to sing, and hires a pianist to practice with her. She hires Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg), a mild mannered musician who is grateful for the work. Little does he know how horrible her singing is, and there is no question  about her voice. Her singing coach is evasive about her ability, and she butchers pretty much every song you hear her sing. However she believes differently, so where does she want to do next?

Those of you who know the history already know what happens next, but I won’t say. This film seemed improbable, but it did happen. The writer and director of the film could have approached this in more of a campy manner, portraying her as a bit of a buffoon, but they do a good job of respecting the subject matter.  She was a real person, after all, not some caricature of a high society woman.

Aside from some complaints about the quality of the CGI they used to transform the exterior scenes to a 1940s look, I really didn’t have much to dislike about the film. If a costume drama is the sort of movie you like, you will definitely like this one.