Chuckles Film Reviews-Flood and Florence Foster Jenkins

This will be, I hope, a recurring feature that will be on the blog each time I watch a film. I used to love films so much and could watch a pile of them in my spare time. However with my focus on reading, I find little time to enjoy films that are new to me but now I need to start clearing the unwatched pile and get some space back! Here are the latest films I watched.

1) Flood
Starring Robert Carlyle, Tom Courtenay, Joanne Whalley, Peter Suchet, Nigel Planer, Tom Hardy, Jessalyn Gilsig and David Hayman.

Wild storms cause mass flooding in Scotland and the north of England but when it swings south towards London, the Thames Barrier is about to be breached, threatening the lives of everyone who is not evacuated in time.

 
This British disaster film got a poor write up when it came out so I waited and got it for 50p in a charity shop. I can actually see why it didn't get a good review even with the excellent cast in it. The opening scenes showing the storm hitting Wick and battering the sea coast were good, as was following the weather people and the government when things started to go wrong. I liked the plot of the film which deals with London flooding when the Thames barrier is breached by a storm surge, and the attempt to evacuate the millions in the city in the space of just a few hours. Things that were really good included following the two workers in the tunnels who aren't aware of the disaster above their heads, the government response to it and the planning of the evacuation. I enjoyed all of that.

There were excellent performances from Tom Courtenay as the scientist who has been warning of this disaster for years, Nigel Planer's devastated weather guy who failed to predict the disaster (he was VERY harshly treated), Joanne Whalley's portayal of the woman in charge of the situation, Peter Suchet's Deputy Prime Minister and the banter between the workers in the tunnel. I would have liked to see more of the story of a group of civilians trapped underground and looking for help. There were some really good things to enjoy in the film. 

There were issues though. The over-riding dramatic plot centered on the character of Robert Carlyle, who became estranged from his father because his father (Courtenay) was obsessed with his work and the coming disaster, which Carlyle never believed would happen. He is also estranged from former wife Sam who runs operations at the barrier which he has been sent to look at, thus the three working together to save London. Of course every issue that caused the break up of Sam and Rob vanishes as they are instantly in love again and ready to just get back together. Their story bored me and frankly it was a wooden performance from Carlyle. It felt very forced and awkward. The lurve added nothing to the overall plot. The script could have been better too. They also killed off my two favourite characters which left me really annoyed at the ending. 

This was a film that actually had pretty good potential and some really good moments but it all got lost in the over dramatic love story unfolding and the family reuniting thing. I wish they had just focused on the main disaster and stuck with those characters, leaving the surplus to requirement Sam and Rob out of the plot. Overall I found myself a bit disappointed but not greatly surprised given the reviews I saw previously.

2) Florence Foster Jenkins
Starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, Nina Arianda and Rebecca Ferguson. 

A wealthy New York socialite dreams of performing at Carnegie Hall for war veterans, unaware that in reality she has a dreadful singing voice.

I'm a huge fan of Meryl Streep, whether she is singing, giving tear-jerker performances, doing comedy or serious drama. I'll watch most things she is in even this kind of film which is way out of my comfort zone. As always, I thought she was outstanding in this film. She played the somewhat tragic figure of a socialite who loves opera music and singing but is totally tone deaf. But her friends lie to her that she is brilliant and try to avoid her hearing what outsiders say about her, protecting her at every turn. It really is unbelievable that this actually happened! She releases a record, gets it put on the radio and does live ear screeching performances that make you cringe. Her singing lesson scenes are hilariously funny, with Streep's facial expressions and exertions making me snigger. Yet at the same time she is kind of a tragic figure, infected with a serious STD by her first husband, unaware of her lack of talent, and living in a sort of cocooned world.

I'm no fan of Hugh Grant and his posh boy performances but I actually thought he was excellent in this role. Yes he was playing a posh boy, married to Florence but actually living apart from her with his girlfriend. Despite his deceptions, his fondness for Florence does show through and he is determined to do anything to protect her from ridicule. I really liked the relationship between the characters. Humour also comes in the form of Florence's new piano player who is horrified by her vocal talents but who also becomes loyal to her, played brilliantly by Simon Helberg. I also loved the brash showgirl who finds Florence amusing but also comes to be fiercely protective of her. The overall acting in the film was great. 

I sort of felt bad laughing at how bad the poor woman actually was, and developed a great deal of sympathy for her situation. Battling an illness that takes everything from her, what keeps her going is her love of music and performing. She is always told how great she is so the poor woman thinks she is a great singer. It seems in some ways cruel to delude her but I guess her friends just wanted her to be happy. It says a lot about their love for her that they were willing to go to such great lengths to hide the truth from her. I think that is why the story is as sad as it is funny. 

It's not easy to listen to all of the opera in the film if, like me, you are not a fan of that style of music, but I did enjoy watching the film.