We loved this story (based on a true one) of a 1944 New York heiress with a tin ear whose loving husband (with the people he pays off) helps her perform at Carnegie Hall. The incomparable Meryl Streep in the title role, Hugh Grant as the husband named St. Clair Bayfield, and Simon Helberg as the beleaguered accompanist Cosmé McMoon are each marvelous in their roles. Streep (last blogged for Suffragette) struts and screeches, belying the actress's actual talent as a trained singer. Apparently she began rehearsals singing correctly and learned to degrade her pitch and tone with time. Hugh Grant (among his movies that I've liked are Maurice (1987), Impromptu (1991), Sirens (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Notting Hill (1999), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About a Boy (2002), Love Actually (2003), American Dreamz (2006), and Music and Lyrics (2007)) is delightful as the dashing younger husband/caretaker (he is almost 56 to Streep's 67), and Simon Helberg (he had dozens of credits before 209 episodes of The Big Bang Theory) is hilarious when he mugs in horror over his employer's tone-deafness. Just as Streep is a real singer, Helberg is a true pianist (in the interview linked below he refers to himself as a "party trick" piano player with a focus on jazz) and the two of them actually performed live in all scenes.
Supporting strength comes from a host of characters, but especially standing out are Rebecca Ferguson (she looks familiar but I can't place her even after reading her resumé) as the mistress and Nina Arianda (the 2012 Tony winner, for Venus in Fur, has been in quite a few movies I've seen, including Win Win, Midnight in Paris, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them, and one episode of Aziz Ansari's series Master of None) as "the showgirl."
Noted director Stephen Frears (most recently in these pages for Philomena) works from a script by Nicholas Martin in his feature debut.
The look of the picture is lush, with various locations in Frears' and Grant's native England subbing in for (and digitally altered to resemble) World War II era Manhattan, magnificent set dressing (oh, that apartment, those lobbies!), and terrific wardrobe. Ferguson's Lauren Bacall-style outfits particularly pleased me. I must give credit to cinematographer Danny Cohen (last blogged for The Danish Girl), production designer Alan MacDonald (worked on Kinky Boots (2005), The Queen (2006), Chéri (these two also directed by Frears), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Philomena, and Sing Street, to name a few), and costume designer Consolata Boyle (Oscar nominated for Helen Mirren's wardrobe in The Queen, dressed Streep in The Iron Lady, and worked on, among others, Into the West (1992), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Mary Reilly (1996) (another by Frears), Angela's Ashes (1999), and Chéri).
Some of the score by Alexandre Desplat (last blogged for The Danish Girl) can be streamed on this playlist (turn the auto-play button on). When the screeching starts I suggest you turn it off. But in context it is very funny. One great scene has a character literally rolling on the floor laughing.
Zealots like me, after seeing the movie, will enjoy this interview (it contains spoilers), nearly an hour long, with the three top stars. Grant's dry humor and Helberg's modesty contrast with Streep's earnest professionalism.
As a musician with a discriminating ear, I worried that I would hate this movie. I couldn't have been more wrong. Jenkins' passion and love of music are inspiring and, of course, portrayed to perfection. And the chaste love of the couple is quite touching. When Martha and Jerry said they liked it, we resolved to see it today and I'm so glad we did. Rotten Tomatoes' critics liked it too, averaging 87%, though its audiences come in at only 77%.
The big screen isn't a must but the movie is wonderful.
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