Is this Meryl Streep as we have never seen her? She has certainly never worn quite this much black eyeliner.
But then her character Ricki Rendazzo is rather fond of black eyeliner, and tight pants and leather jackets - and her electric guitar. She's the lead singer of her own small-time rock band, and they're called Ricki and the Flash.
There were so many reasons for me to get excited about this film. Along with multi Oscar-winner Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Sophie's Choice), there is fellow Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Rachel Getting Married) and the similarly Oscar-endowed writer Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult).
Throw in yet another Oscar-winner in the shape of Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, The Ice Storm) and the left-field casting of aging LA-based Aussie rocker Rick Springfield (Californication, True Detective), and we have a very interesting prospect indeed.
This is the story of a woman who chose her music over her family, having left her husband and three children to try and become a rockstar. Many years later, that dream not remotely realised, a crisis with her daughter Julie prompts a visit home, a visit not exactly welcomed.
This introduces an intriguing dynamic, as Julie is played by Streep's real daughter, Mamie Gummer. They have an easy on-screen chemistry, as you might expect, despite the extreme uneasiness of their estranged relationship.
Streep never seems to do anything by halves. She learned to play the guitar for the role, and it really is her singing and performing as Ricki.
Springfield on the other hand came with those skills, so it's in the more dramatic scenes as Ricki's guitarist and lover that he's tested, and for the most part passes with flying colours.
The man who reminded me just how all-class he is though, is the wonderful Kevin Kline, Ricki's downbeat and oftentimes downtrodden ex-husband Pete. The scenes between Streep and Kline are a simple delight, in the hands of such masters of their craft this should be no surprise, but they still flooded me with joy.
Interestingly, Ricki is up there among Streep's most unlikeable characters she's played - a staunch, Bush-voting Obama-bashing Republican rocker with both racist and homophobic undertones - and this is before we all start judging her parenting skills.
To find myself still on her side as this story played out is testament to both the writing and her performance, as Ricki's flaws and vulnerabilities make her a human we end up caring about.
Compared with the separate works of Demme and Cody before this, Ricki and the Flash is a more formulaic and eventually slightly cheesy endeavour.
This will - in my view - increase the audience, but decrease the overall satisfaction rating of those who are fans of them both. Of course, this film comes with an inbuilt and loyal Streep fan base, and they shouldn't be disappointed (are we ever?).
Ricki managed to get under my skin through the course of her story, and I left the cinema feeling nourished, my heart warmed and a smile on my face.
Three-and-a-half stars.
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Ricki and the Flash:: Director: Jonathan Demme:: Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Hayse Jack, Luke Webb:: Rating: R16 - Violence & offensive language:: Running Time: 101 minutes:: Release Date: August 27, 2015
