Marguerite

In 1920s France, Marguerite, a wealthy baroness, gives concerts in her own mansion. Her voice is terrible. Her husband never quite arrives in time, the guests avoid each other's eyes to keep from laughing, and her butler has had one duty for years: keeping the illusion up. Then Marguerite decides to sing in a real hall, before a real audience. The film is not interested in bad singing. It is interested in the silent complicity around her: nobody tells her the truth because everybody has something to gain. It gradually shames the audience that started out laughing too. The form is period production: the mansion, costumes, opera sets and gramophones. Giannoli prefers to hold a comic scene long enough for the pain inside it to show. Xavier Giannoli directed. The story is inspired by the life of Florence Foster Jenkins, moved from America to France in the twenties. The film took eleven nominations at the 41st César Awards and won Best Actress, costume, sound and production design. Catherine Frot plays Marguerite and won the César for it. Who it is for: viewers who like period drama and tragicomic character portraits. Who it is not for: anyone wanting pace. The film runs over two hours, sags in the middle and repeats its joke.