Marguerite

Marguerite Dupont seems to have it all – great riches, a husband she loves and a passion for music. On the inside she is striving for her husband's attention and her love of singing gradually turns into an obsession. She arranges private recitals and, with the help of some new friends, who have dubious agenda, is training to step on the stage of the real opera house. There's only one problem, however. Marguerite's singing voice is terrible.

Placed in Paris of 1920 and inspired by the real life story of Florence Foster Jenkins, MARGUERITE is about a woman who would not let the truth to stand on the way of her desire to sing. Director Xavier Giannoli has a special interest in all things infamous. All his previous films examine the short distance between the infamy and fame and what one is capable of to step into the limelight. His Marguerite is an eccentric with a heart of gold, willfully portrayed by Catherine Frot, the actor whose status in France can only be compared with the one of Meryl Streep.

The movie is emotionally charged and finds a perfect balance between funny and sad. However it is a bit overloaded with characters and not every storyline finds a desirable resolution. With a lengthy running time, and multiple story arcs, MARGUERITE could become a perfect miniseries, which may happen in the future, considering the interest the directors have to Florence Foster Jenkins these days.

A little bit too long, but never boring, MARGUERITE is an exciting film that will hold your attention all the way through – an achievement for any film these days. With an exceptional performance by Catherine Frot, the movie's character study is impeccable and the real reason to see this period drama gem.

Catherine Frot is such an excellent actress that one forgets how good everyone around her is too in this film. The story has been hashed to death in the reviews, but suffice to say wonderful story, beautiful surroundings, fabulous casting and acting, and the odd quirk which added to the whole thing, like the car always breaking down (or not) in exactly the same place. The characters are so well drawn that you feel their pain and joy throughout. Even the cad at the beginning seemed to be turning. The butler has me foxed though - is he a good guy or a baddie? And those incredible notes in the concert - did I dream those?

Xavier Giannoli's MARGUERITE is a Gallo-period drama borrows the inspiration from the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, and grafts it onto a rich French woman Marguerite Dumont (Frot) in the Golden twenties, whose inferior singing ability doesn't stop her from fulfilling her biggest fantasy, to organise her own concert in a real theatre.

Naturally, there are two possibilities of Marguerite's apparent oblivion of her own ludicrous voice, a more plausible one is she is fully cognisant of her inadequacy but she is not deterred by it, since she has the wealth to squander, she doesn't mind (or can endure) to be the object of ridicule, as long as it pleases herself and hogs the spotlight due to her self-centred disposition; an alternative possibility could be, she actually doesn't entirely realise how awful her singing capacity is, because, maybe she has some hearing disability or very often, in reality, the recording of one's own voice sounds rather different from what one habitually conceives of, still, the scenario in the case of Marguerite is more serious, in Giannoli's script, she is building castles in the air, what enters in her own ears (while she is singing), assures that she is a qualified coloratura (or mezzo) with distinct talent, an autodidact achieves her faculties by persistent practice. I don't know if there is a medical term for her deep-rooted delusion, or more practically, it is simply Giannoli's creation, which sets to hone the climax, to see what will happen if she hears her real voice from a record player.

In that case, Marguerite is really a wretch despite of her blessed (or cursed) wealth, she is a woman engulfed by lies and pretence, her husband George (Marcon), marries her for the enormous fortune, haunted by guilt, which by the way doesn't stop him from conducting an extramarital affair, and has no guts or whatsoever to rescue her from the elephant-in-the-room; others regard her as a laughing stock, either egg her on or refrain from candour for their own sake, including the opportunistic young reporter Lucien (Dieuaide) and his poet friend Kyrill (Fenoy), who merely exploits her as an anomaly for his own anarchic propaganda.

It is riveting to watch Catherine Frot feigns her impassioned performance under the salvo of off- key ululation, which is carefully meted out to aptly eke out laughter in each of the film's five chapters. Besides, Ms. Frot doesn't yield to the simplified caricature of Marguerite, in lieu, her self- possessed mannerism glistens with bons mots, she balances off Marguerite's larger-than-life image with endearing subtlety which reflects her as a sensible human being, she is, after all, a woman dares to be honest with her own passion and feelings, against all odds. Comedian Michel Fau is pre-eminent in his flamboyant turn as Marguerite's singing coach Atos Pezzini, a gay opera singer, who is blackmailed into accepting this impossible task by Marguerite's loyal butler Madelbos (Mpunga), who, undoubtedly, is the most inscrutable player in Marguerite's enterprise, with his own agenda which is applied as a game-changer in the end but rings hollow in its own seriousness.

Shot entirely in Czech Republic, as a fill-in for Paris, the film adopts a more subdued palette of the roaring 20s, albeit of its amazingly detailed vintage decor, as if Giannoli tries to forewarn us of the finale throughout the whole journey, MARGUERITE is not a farce of titbits, she is a by-product comes to fruition in a hypocritical society, you can mock her, but she actually accomplish something few of us dare to even start with.

'Marguerite' was for me the most anticipated inclusion of the French Film Festival touring Australia as I write this review. In part due to the pithy and alluring plot line given in the booklet for the screenings, and in part as Catherine Frot was freshly known to me since seeing 'Haute Cusine' a couple of years back. I was really impressed with the subtle but powerful presence of Ms Frot on screen. I've become most enamored with the many wonderful actresses from France and this film and performance has already put Catherine Frot into an award winning position; confirming her long and distinguished career.

Rather than give away too much of the plot; i'd would prefer to sing the praises of the panoply of elements that make this movie so memorable and commendable. It is beautifully staged and executed, with a faithful commitment to the period and a skillfully cast ensemble of actors to back the leading lady. I was especially impressed with Congolese actor Denis Mpunga who lends such a solid and fascinating literal support as Marguerite's butler. Michel Fau steals every scene he is in as an overly hammy opera singer; and Andre Marcon manages to both represent and challenge the archetype of a philandering husband.

While the film does run long; a shade over 2 hours; for the most part it is compelling, intriguing, amusing, sad and thought provoking. How many movies can be described that way? There were moments where I was both laughing and crying; a result of powerful direction by Xavier Giannoli who also co-wrote the film, and of course the impeccable performance from Catherine Frot. There is enormous dignity that the actress conveys as well as a hapless and at times a quiet knowing which is hugely endearing and makes Marguerite neither a victim nor a focus for ridicule. La Frot has such cinematic presence and yet at times there is great stillness to the performance; and of course there is the full bodied musical pieces that anchor the film's structure and themes.

There is a majesty to the film cinematically; and despite a couple of plot strands hastily thrown in and not satisfyingly completed, there is a potency and cogency to the script and to the film's overall running time. I feel it will be one of my favorites of 2016.

This film shows in an artistic and subtle way how self consciousness can become very subjective in one's own perspective. A musician's environment can become a metaphor to others to learn about how difficult it is to trascend in life. As music is the main theme in this film, in a general understanding, tuning or being in tone is fundamental to success in any discipline related to this field. The main character of this film loves music and feels it in her own soul, but however lacks the objective sense of the public in the audience about the way she sings. When she finds out the truth she just falls apart in her desire to gain her objective and that marks her life for good.