Review: César Award Winning French Farce 'Marguerite' Starring Catherine Frot, André Marcon And Denis Mpunga

Biopics and historical films almost exclusively center on subjects who did something exemplary or were talented at their pursuits. But what sets “Marguerite” apart is its focus on a woman whose most notable feature is her utter lack of talent. Thus, it's not without some irony that this French farce earned four César Awards wins and eleven nominations, including a statuette for its truly gifted leading lady Catherine Frot. 

Very loosely inspired by a true story (and one that is the basis for the upcoming Meryl Streep film “Florence Foster Jenkins”), “Marguerite” stars Frot as Marguerite Dumont, a rich heiress in 1920s France whose love for the opera far outweighs her skill at singing it. With an excess of wealth, Marguerite suffers not only from a utter void of pitch and tone, but also a dearth of people who will tell her the truth about her voice. At first, she performs only at small charity concerts she sponsors close to her home outside Paris, earning praise from...