Madame Clicquot

Haley Bennett turns in a reasonable effort here as the eponymous lady who has to keep control of her late husband's vineyards at a time in history when Napoleon's wars were raging throughout Europe - and France wasn't doing so well, by this point - and his laws prohibited women from managing so much as a dinner party. The death of François (Tom Sturridge) has left her a property that her former father-in-law Philippe (Ben Miles) is keen to sell to the neighbouring Mr. Moet but with a bit of help from accountant "Edouard" (Anson Boon) and roguish distributor "Droite" (Paul Rhys) she is determined to develop her own brand of Champagne and, probably more precariously, get the stuff to the well-heeled markets readily prepared to pay through the nose for wine without the "frog-eyed bubbles". The framework is here for a good story, depicting the struggles of a woman - and a father - coming to terms with an untimely death amidst a wartime environment. We do learn a little, via flashback, that her marriage was loving but that her husband became mentally ill putting huge stress on this woman and on their young daughter but the dramatisation is rather let down by a typically uninspiring performance from Sturridge and some quite weak storytelling. Certainly, the film looks great and it illustrates well the difficulties in getting the vintage grown in the first place before bottling these mobile explosive devices and taking them, by wagon, to market and it's quite richly scored by Bryce Dessner, but director Thomas Napper has over-relied on the aesthetics of the film and put too little into the characterisations of a woman who clearly knew her own mind and was not going to let her beloved husband's legacy disappear - even at the risk of bankruptcy. It's worth a watch, but a cinema screening doesn't really add much value to this undercooked period drama that just lacked, well, fizz.

I went to see the movie at the local cinema due to my wife's suggestion but I was concerned it was the type of movie I would later wish I didn't bother to go and view. Not my cup of tea so to speak.

Instead, I was glad I did. It made me feel I was in the Champagne region and the acting seemed in keeping with the French way. It was in my eyes a realistic portrayal of events and the region.

I knew nothing of the person(s) or the Champagne brand but a little research beforehand helped. In any movie covering someone's life there has to be a balance with what parts are emphasised and I was happy with the mix in that regard.

Combining all of the elements that go into making a fine film and blending the various ingredients in just the right proportions is akin to the practice of crafting a fine wine - and quite an irony here given the subject matter of this engaging cinematic biography of Barbe Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (1777-1866) (Haley Bennett), the French winemaker who became better known as "the Grand Dame of Champagne." Having inherited the business of her husband, François (Tom Sturridge), after this death, she vowed to continue operating the winery, carrying on his vision for innovation in the face of stiff competition from the rival Moet organization. But doing so was quite the challenge in light of financial difficulties, vintage failures, the questionable business practices of competitors, the responsibility of raising a young daughter (Cecily Cleeve) as a single mother, onerous operating conditions during the Napoleonic Era and the profound doubts of others (most notably her skeptical sexist father-in-law, Philippe (Ben Miles)) about whether a woman could successfully run an organization like this. Director Thomas Napper's latest chronicles the Widow Clicquot's inventive efforts to address these issues, as well as her ambitious initiatives to live up to the dreams of her late husband, in large part with the assistance of her loyal distributor, Louis (Sam Riley). In telling this story, the filmmaker seamlessly blends challenging events of everyday operations with flashbacks of a more personal nature, exploring the heartfelt feelings that provided the basis for the Clicquot philosophy of winemaking. The picture's superbly crafted narrative and screenplay, combined with exquisite period piece production values and excellent performances (particularly Bennett in one of her best on-screen portrayals), make for an involving, multifaceted watch. Admittedly, there are times in the second half where the story meanders somewhat, and some may find that this release gets a little too detailed when discussing the technical particulars of vinification. However, much of this offering is evenly balanced, effectively holding viewer interest about a subject that's not especially common in the annals of filmmaking. What's more, though, on a more philosophical level, this release celebrates the inherent joy and passion involved in the act of creating, ideas applicable to the manifestation of any artform, be it wine or painting or whatever else we're capable of envisioning and bringing into being. And, if that's not worth drinking a toast to, I don't know what is.

"Widow Clicquot" is an art film with historical chops helping those of us who love champagne and those who study Napolean. "Widow" is important in that title because in the early 19th century Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) challenged the 1804 Napoleonic code that didn't allow women to be business owners unless she was a widow.

Throughout the story, flashbacks allow us to see how she became widowed and how she grew into a winemaker helping to establish forever the méthode champenoise. The contemporary scenes allow reflections on the past and, most importantly, the role of women in the early 19th century. Although the early parts where she is struggling and learning the business of producing champagne is visually dark, Bennett infuses Barbe with enough potential energy to light up the screen.

More exciting than seeing her romances with men and wine is the process of refining her test samples into what has been known as "Comet Champagne" after the inspiration of a comet in her sky at that time. Her formula now is identified as Clicquot, a gold standard for fine champagne.

It's possible some would like to discount the feminist angle of this rich biography, but at their peril. The seeds of reasonable progress are sown here because of her excellence in developing the winery and thereby one of the world's greatest wines.

The dramatic tale, from reality, is as powerful as any romantic drama today. Too bad some will miss it out of a fear of being preached to about women's place. It is all about human ingenuity and ambition, male or female.

This was only entertaining enough to prevent me from dropping it halfway through, but that's not saying much because I'm not used to dropping films in general; I found myself waiting for it to end. The female protagonist is supposed to be a historical figure who invented several new methods for champagne production and revolutionised the industry. Yet in this film she doesn't feel like someone who commands respect or is inspirational, she comes across as meek and agreeable. Her deceased husband takes up too much screen time and her love affair with her merchant feels unnecessary, why exactly does she have to be sexualised in a movie about how innovative she was? I guess her husband being her raison d'etre wasn't quite enough, they had to sexually involve another man who also happened to be an important employee that her business depended on heavily.

In a weirdly vague manner, when Barbe was having a conversation with her husband about his relationship with the merchant (Droite), it was hinted that they may have had feelings that went beyond friendship between them; it was also vaguely hinted that the merchant may be attracted to men in a scene where he was supposedly flirting with a new male employee. So what exactly was that for? No reason other than the fact that this film came out in 2024 I suppose. I almost thought that the flashback plot would involve cheating and some weird open relationship situation involving the trio.

If you're a champagne enthusiast watching this, don't expect any scenes explaining much about the innovations she came up with, because there are virtually none. If I'm to be charitable, I can say the only redeeming quality is how dedicated the main character seems to her "craft", but whether or not you will agree will probably heavily depend on your mood because it's not substantial, especially since her main motivation is her late husband. Overall I wouldn't recommend this; it fails as a character study, it fails as a drama and it's also a pretty pathetic attempt at a "feminist" film. Let's be blunt and just admit it's ultimately one big advertisement for the champagne brand in question.