Review: Falling for Figaro is a British underdog story with Danielle Macdonald as a would-be opera singer

This is another in the long line of British underdog movies. Billy Elliot, The Full Monty, Eddie the Eagle, the recent The Phantom of the Open, to name a few - so if you like that kind of thing, this is the kind of thing you will like. One of its closer antecedents is One Chance, which was based on the true story of an opera singer who won Britain's Got Talent.

But it's not the best of its kind, despite an interesting pedigree, of which more anon.

Millie Cantwell (played by Australian Danielle Macdonald) is a brilliant American fund manager who seems destined for big things in her British office but whose dreams lie elsewhere.

Much to the bemusement of her colleague and boyfriend, Charlie (Shazad Latif), she decides to chuck in the job and pursue her passion: studying opera so she can compete in the Singer of Renown competition, a springboard to a professional career.

On the recommendation of a friend, she seeks tutoring from Meghan Geoffrey-Bishop (Joanna Lumley), a former singer who's fallen on hard times, living alone in a decrepit farmhouse in Scotland. Millie makes the trek but their first meeting doesn't go well.

But, whether Millie's friend was subtly trying to dissuade her or not, she isn't daunted.

She takes up residence at the local pub, The Dirty Pig, and, with Meghan needing the cash, the lessons - and the torments - begin.

Meghan is often literally a hands-on instructor, demanding, and not gushing with praise or encouragement. But if Millie wants to make the grade in a matter of months, this approach might be just what she needs.

Meghan only seems to have one other student, jack-of-all-trades Max Thistlewaite (Hugh Skinner), who has auditioned multiple times for Singer of Renown without success and rather resents this interloper. But, of course, in this sort of movie an initial hostility often develops into something else.

Falling for Figaro is an Australian-British co-production - filming took place in Scotland, post-production in Australia. Director Ben Lewin (who scripted with Allen Palmer) has had a long and varied career encompassing Australian and international film and TV (he created Rafferty's Rules and wrote and directed the sex surrogate story The Sessions, among other credits) but this isn't one of his best efforts.

Presumably to attract US audiences, the lead character is American, though this plays no major part in the story and she could just as well be Australian as this is pure fiction.

Dubbing is, of course, a long tradition in movies but in a story of two people who want to sing opera, it seems a bit odd not to cast singers who can act, especially when neither of the leads is a big name. That's not to fault the acting - both Macdonald and Hugh Skinner are experienced and appealing and look convincing as they "sing".

Lumley starts out a bit like Absolutely Fabulous's Patsy gone to seed - but, as with Max, a more human side begins to emerge. Latif is fine in a rather thankless role.

While the basic elements are there for a good time - including many popular opera arias, in whole or in part -and it's certainly pleasant enough to watch, the film doesn't feel fleshed out enough in character or detail to make full impact as comedy or drama. It doesn't evoke the passion or poignancy that opera - or a story about people devoted to pursuing this demanding and difficult art - should.