Marguerite

Dir: Xavier Giannoli

2016

12839

15

Paris, 1920s. Marguerite Dumont is a wealthy woman who loves music, particularly opera, and adores singing and performing for her loved ones.

She’s not actually a brilliant singer, indeed almost tone deaf – but remains blissfully unaware of this fact as both her friends and her husband have kept the fantasy of her talent. The problems start when she decides to perform for a real audience…

Loosely based on the true story of American socialite and amateur singer Florence Foster Jenkins – about whom Stephen Frears is directing an eponymous biopic, set for release next year – Xavier Giannoli’s (In the Beginning) film screened in competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and stars Catherine Frot (The Page Turner), who gives a heartfelt performance as the passionate, almost obsessive Marguerite, whose inability to hear herself clearly invites ridicule from her audiences; but who is able to sustain an impressive career bankrolled almost entirely by her own personal wealth.

These elements could easily have been used to create a memorable farce, but Giannoli’s lively, tender focus is more forgiving: questioning instead why Marguerite was so desperate for public exposure and admiration, and inviting his audience to investigate, rather than mock her.

Booking Information

Distributor

Picturehouse Entertainment

Release Date

18 March 2016

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