Based on the true story of the woman who became world famous for her methods of champagne-production in a time when women were expected to be quiet and pretty, this art house costume drama is gorgeously shot, but may be too quiet for some movie-goers.
Haley Bennett plays the title character, a beauty with porcelain skin and a sultry voice whose greatest attributes were her intellect and grit. Initially she and her husband Francois (Tom Sturridge) are partners in the family business, working together.
Although he would have an untimely death, and an especially tragic one, Clicquot persevered, single-handedly keeping the vineyards (in France) from being sold off. In many ways, this film has the same elements as business movies you’ve seen about everything from cell phones to stock fortunes.
In other words, she starts in the red, encourages the troops around her to stay on, despite the fact that she can’t pay them, and goes on to become an innovator of the craft and a person whose name is still known today, long after her death in 1886.
Of course, there are competitors and strict regulations from Napoleon she must navigate-again, just like a business movie.
The difference is that her flashbacks to her days with her husband are the stuff of romance novels, for better or worse, and the production itself is bathed in great lighting and a cast of English actors who know how to make these characters real.
Is it for everyone? No. This is meant to be an art house release, not a super hero matinee. Which is not me apologizing for it, it’s me saying that it is quiet, deliberate, and dialog heavy.
Widow Clicquot is in theaters nationwide