CAPSULE: Marguerite (2015, Dir. Xavier Giannoli)

There're two Florence Foster Jenkins going head to head over the next few weeks. That's two films trying to make something moving out of the story of a socialite who funds a large scale opera recital. The kicker here is that she is the lone performer and she can't sing for shit.

The first attempt to drop is a French "inspired by true events" version by director Xavier Giannoli. Marguerite takes a more dour angle on the source material than Stephen Frears' upcoming Meryl Streep vehicle. And while dour is not necessarily a bad thing, it isn't at all focused either.

Giannoli takes the absurdity of the whole situation as read and makes much of the skills of his lead actor, Catherine Frot, in finding the deluded optimism of his Jenkins cipher, Marguerite Dumont. She gives an endearing performance but it isn't enough to push through Giannoli's muddled musings on artistic cannibalism and financial opportunism - something that surrounds Marguerite and her substantial fortune.

The 1920s give a picturesque backdrop for the proceedings and there are certainly audiences that will happily dive into the film for that and the reasonable production values. Personally, about 40 minutes in I found myself thinking "Can they really expect to drag this out for two hours?" They do, and it is a chore.

I can't say that, having sat through Marguerite, I'm too interested in seeing Streep hash over this story again, even if it does look to be brighter. Maybe there is a more successful film in this story if the bubbles are added back in. One thing is for sure, this one is too sober for its own good.

★★☆

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