Film Preview: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Page Revisions:

(April 24, 2016) Original
(May 8, 2016) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#5)

Release Date:

August 12, 2016

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.”

Poster Rating: C / C (3) / C-

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Review: (#1) You might be able to sell the film with an image of Meryl Streep, but this poster design is dreadful. It has no visual style and sticks unabashedly to old, unflattering techniques.

(#2-#4) These three character designs seem utterly pointless. The backgrounds are bland and the actors on the face aren’t particularly exciting. The taglines surprisingly give them each a slight bump in quality. (#5) Perhaps the poster designers were looking to impart a sense of garishness, but their success is to the viewer’s chagrin.

Trailer Rating: C / B-

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Review: (#1) The French language film about the “popular” singer gave the audience much more interest in how bad she was and why it was such a spectacle that she was getting such gigs. This trailer merely permits Meryl Streep to mug for the camera and keep quiet unless something is given away.

(#2) No longer hedging their bets, producers gave the audience precisely what they needed to appreciate the film’s subject matter. It’s a full-throated pleasure that unfortunately manages to give too much away.

Oscar Prospects:

Meryl Streep is sure to build buzz for an Oscar nomination, but the August release might be harmful for the film’s other chances. Of course, being good won’t necessarily prevent its nomination in the craft categories.