Falling for Figaro - A Movie Review

You have much to learn if you want to be an opera singer.

Falling for Figaro is a 2020 film. Millie is an aspiring opera singer. She gives up her career to train under the demanding talents of a vocal coach, Meghan Geoffrey-Bishop in Ireland. In her training, Millie and Max turn from rivals into lovers.

Falling for Figaro falls flat right off the music sheet. Don’t you despise when films have a promising premise only to trick you? The central premise of this film is a young woman’s passion for being an opera singer. I don’t know what happened to this film's development because the premise was so promising!

The film has a good cast of actors but not the right character development. The characters and story could be more consistent. The choice of perspective is all over the measuring scales between the three main characters. The lack of character development hampers the film's ability to convey a relatable message about the pursuit of passion.

Danielle MacDonald stars as Millie, a woman who dreams of being an opera singer. I first saw MacDonald in Dumplin’ where she dictated a strong performance. Millie’s plan is reasonable - test it for a year to see if she can do it. She follows the rhythm of her singing dreams until her character doesn’t match the harmony of the story.

As the world’s strictest opera teacher, Meghan Geoffrey-Bishop (Joanna Lumley) is like Miranda Priestly only she dominates the music industry. When Meghan gives you advice, it’s not for the faint of heart. In her technique, she grabs your tongue or throat. Lumley’s role was totally ruined. Meghan is reduced to the couple’s mediator. Wrong direction entirely!

Max (Hugh Skinner) competes with Millie to outsing her. Millie and Max competing against each other was the original premise. But then, they climb an inconsistent music range and realize their romantic feelings for one another.

The film completely strayed from its musical path to study a couple’s dynamic with no chemistry. Falling for Figaro should have ignored a romance angle. We need more films with characters exploring their passions, like singing.

The romance plotline would have faired well if Millie wasn’t already in a relationship. That’s another aspect of the movie that I didn’t like. Millie’s boyfriend, Charlie (Shazad Latif) is the best supportive partner we all need. He lets Millie travel to Ireland for a year where he is positive that they’ll retain a long-distance relationship.

Now for my biggest complaint about Falling for Figaro. MacDonald and Skinner took vocal training, but they were dubbed anyway - with professional opera singers who didn’t match their tone at all! Why couldn’t they mix the actor’s voices with the opera singers? Their voices sounded so unnatural each time the actors opened their mouths.

Let’s talk about what Ben Lewin did a good job with. For starters, Falling for Figaro highlights opera. That’s a genre, not many people would think about. The most important part about passions is that everyone has different interests. Take the time to learn about others' passions and their journey. We need to experiment with our passions to see if they’ll work.

I liked the first half of the film until it unravels into nonsense. Millie travels to Scotland. Falling for Figaro was filmed in locations like the Scottish Highlands and two theatres in Glasgow. It’s a shame they’re wasted in this film.

By the time the film ends, you’re just talking to the screen about how bad it is. It’s a shame because it could have been a great movie.