Potiche (2010)

Charmante! Jack and I loved this tale of a woman finding her power in 1977 France when she takes over from her chauvinist husband the umbrella factory founded by her father. Potiche means trophy wife in French. Catherine Deneuve (at 67 years of age she has 111 credits; my faves are Belle de Jour (1967), The Last Metro (1980), Indochine (1992) for which she was Oscar-nominated, and 8 Women (8 Femmes - 2002), among many) has aged beautifully. It must have been a little strange for her to play her current age in a piece set in a period in which she flourished as a young beauty. Back in Los Angeles in the 90s, I had occasion to sit across a room from Kate Walsh, before she became famous for playing Addison Montgomery on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. I was convinced that Walsh was Deneuve's relative (compare this photo with this and see if you agree) but never got around to asking her. In an episode of Grey's, someone flirting with Addison asked her the very question. No, both times. But I digress, as usual. Deneuve's character, Suzanne, has class and warmth, even when she doesn't (and you'll just have to see the movie to find out what I'm talking about). Much has been written about Gérard Depardieu (just two months younger than Deneuve, he has 187 credits--I can barely read through them all, much less name my favorites, but I did love Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez vos mouchoirs - 1978) and Jean de Florette (1986), among many) co-starring again with Deneuve as he did in The Last Metro and a number of others, and much has been written about how big he is now. Yep, he's big! His Maurice Babin is a reasonable man whom Suzanne pushes, just as she pushes her husband Robert, played by Fabrice Lucchini (I wrote about him in Paris). Suzanne and Robert's grown children are played by Judith Godrèche (was in the fabulous Ridicule (1996) and L'auberge espagnole (2002), to name a few) and Jérémie Renier (I wrote about him in Summer Hours), with co-starring roles by Godrèche's Farrah Fawcett haircut and the disco wardrobe on both of them (costume design by Pascaline Chavanne, designer on Under the Sand (2000), 8 Women, Swimming Pool (2003), Ricky, all by the same director as this one, François Ozon, and lots more).

Which brings me to Ozon, whose past work I covered in my post on Ricky. His timing is impeccable and the production values are high--not only the hair and wardrobe but also the sets--and he adapted the play by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy on which this movie is based (I believe he has written or adapted the screenplays of all of his features). Ozon added the twists in the third act.

Ozon's regular composer Philippe Rombi once again does the honors, supplemented by pop songs of the period (here's a complete list with a window from which you can play two tracks). Sergi Lopez, one of the stars of Ricky, has a cameo driving a camion (French for truck). And fans of The Sopranos will appreciate the name of the strip club, Badaboum. You don't need to have lived through the dawn of women's liberation (or remember when Jane Fonda instructed us to purse our lips to show that we were breathing while exercising) to love it, but having done so added a certain je ne sais quoi. Rated R for a couple of sex scenes with no actual nudity and highly recommended for all except subtitle-phobes.