Widow Clicquot
Reviews
Brent Marchant
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.
CinemaSerf
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.
Movie Recommendation
Armand2024-09-27Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of crossing boundaries against his best friend at elementary school. While no one knows what actually happened between the two boys, the incident triggers a series of events, forcing parents and school staff into a captivating battle of redemption where madness, desire and obsession arise.More...
Utopia2024-12-09A soldier searching for his missing wife breaks into a high-tech facility, believing she's been caught in a human trafficking ring. But beyond its walls, he finds a surreal, futuristic fantasy park where reality and illusion blur. As he navigates this seductive and dangerous world, a shocking truth pulls him deeper into a deadly game where nothing is as it seems.More...
La coda del diavolo2024-07-25There is no descriptionMore...
The Two-Headed Spy1958-11-17Wartime thriller with film noir elements based on a true story as written in A.P. Scotland's autobiography "The London Cage". The plot has greatly exaggerated the actual events of A.P. Scotland's experiences, including the addition of a fictional love interest.More...
Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps2024-07-28Three Mysterious Curses, two lost souls... and one incredibly difficult dance. A lowly goatherd seeks out a reclusive witch to break the evil enchantment that has long kept him from taking a wife. When he completes the three impossible trials the witch prescribes, the man earns the hand of the legendary Princess, only heir of the Old King of the Cursed Kingdom. But when he arrives at the altar with a perfect fairytale ending hanging in the balance, both the goatherd and mysterious witch who helped transform him into the perfect eligible bachelor find that there is one enchantment they can't figure out how to break... true love.More...
An Affair to Remember1957-07-11A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?More...
Saturn in Opposition2007-02-23This film focuses on contemporary 30- and 40-somethings trying to make sense of their lives in an age in which the old certainties have disappeared. Lorenzo and Davide make their lives together within a circle that includes Antonio and Angelica, married with children; Nerval and her policeman husband.More...
Borgo2024-04-17Melissa is an experienced, exemplary prison guard. But a dangerous spiral is set into motion when she transfers to a Corsican jail, where she accepts help and protection from inmate Saveriu to get her bearings. Upon his release, he contacts Melissa expecting to collect.More...
K.O.2025-06-05A former fighter must find the missing son of an opponent he accidentally killed years ago, taking on a brutally violent crime gang in Marseille.More...
Sideways2004-10-22Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.More...
Mothers' Instinct2024-01-11Housewives Alice and Celine are best friends and neighbours who seem to have it all. However, when a tragic accident shatters the harmony of their lives, guilt, suspicion and paranoia begin to unravel their sisterly bond.More...
The Six Triple Eight2024-12-06During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.More...
Locke2014-04-10Ivan Locke has worked hard to craft a good life for himself. Tonight, that life will collapse around him. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul.More...
Priscilla2023-10-27When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.More...
Fly Me to the Moon2024-07-10Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones, brought in to fix NASA's public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis' already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.More...
Before Sunset2004-06-16Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.More...
Juror #22024-10-30While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.More...
Dallas Buyers Club2013-11-01Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.More...
Little Women2019-12-25Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.More...
Braveheart1995-05-24Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.More...
Similar Movies
The Secret
2000-11-01Marie, who works as a successful door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson, has been married to her husband Francois for 12 years and has a two-year-old son. Though she is relatively content with her life, she feels something is wanting. Enter 50-year old African-American Bill. Initially she is annoyed by his insouciance, but she finds that she is irresistibly attracted to him. Soon the two are in the midst of sordid illicit affair. She knows little about her new lover, and he seems uninterested in learning about her, but the long sessions of lovemaking are something else entirely. Feeling out of control, Marie is increasingly repelled by her own actions. Psychologically, she struggles to reconcile her torrid encounters with Bill and mundane domestic chores such as bathing her son. Moreover, she finds herself incapable of hiding her adulterous behavior, rather she comes home with scratches and hickeys all over her body, to the devastation Francois.The Passion of Joan o...
1928-04-21A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.Cool Runnings
1993-10-01When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican bobsled team.Rocky Balboa
2006-12-20When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history!Blood Diamond
2006-12-08An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.Top Gun
1986-05-16For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.Batman Begins
2005-06-10Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.Contact
1997-07-11A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.One Night
2016-09-27PROMISE ME ONE THING. DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND. A story of 2 lonely strangers meeting up together on one lonely night in Bangkok.The Electrical Life o...
2021-10-21The extraordinary true story of eccentric British artist Louis Wain, whose playful, sometimes even psychedelic pictures helped to transform the public's perception of cats forever.Military Wives
2020-03-06Inspired by global phenomenon of military wives choirs, the story celebrates a band of misfit women who form a choir on a military base. As unexpected bonds of friendship flourish, music and laughter transform their lives, helping each other to overcome their fears for loved ones in combat.Mary's Sons
2002-05-19After the death of her husband and teenage son, a woman puts an ad in a newspaper for a surrogate child.Thelma & Louise
1991-05-24Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.Imagine Me & You
2006-01-27During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.Alice Júnior
2020-09-11This is the story of Alice Junior, a transgender girl full of life, who wants to give her first kiss, but first, she just wants to be who she really is.Mildred Pierce
1945-10-20A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.Contra
2020-10-28With his uncouth manner, Professor Pohl doesn’t enjoy the best reputation at the university where he works. To make matters worse, he makes a racist remark when student Naima arrives late for his lecture. Unfortunately for him, a video of his verbal outburst spreads like wildfire on the Internet, and the university’s president, Lambrecht, is called to deal with the incident. But Pohl is not dismissed. Instead, he is put to the task of helping Naima prepare for an important debating competition. The lecturer and the student could not be more different, yet they are thrown together to work as a team.Random Hearts
1999-10-08After losing their spouses in a plane crash, an internal affairs cop and a congresswoman find each other's keys in each other's loved ones' possessions and discover that the two were having an affair.Ghost Town
2008-09-19Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!Stonewall
2015-09-18Kicked out by his parents, a gay teenager leaves small-town Indiana for New York's Greenwich Village, where growing discrimination against the gay community leads to riots on June 28, 1969.