Movies Reviews

Potiche – Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Mar 31, 2011, 15:03 GMT

Set in 1977 in a provincial French town, POTICHE is a free adaptation of the 1970s eponymous hit comic play. Catherine Deneuve is Suzanne Pujol, a submissive, housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (or “potiche,”) who steps in to manage the umbrella factory run by her wealthy and tyrannical husband (Fabrice Luchini) after the workers go on strike and take him hostage. To everyone’s surprise, Suzanne proves herself a competent and assertive woman ...more

Strictly for unreformed lovers of very French cinema and lovers of the very nostalgic.

François Ozon has added to his track record of dozens of hits with this fun and splashy junket into the world of the swells. The time is 1977 and the place is Robert Pujol’s (Fabrice Luchini) umbrella factory.

The factory that put “Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ on the map, no doubt. In any event, the factory is going great guns in spite of the fact that owner Robert is a nitwit who spends most of his time with his mistresses and not near enough with his seamstresses.

The seamstresses are revolting. Not that they look bad, they are simply going on strike. When renegade strikers kidnap Pujol, the perennially sexy Catherine Deneuve, playing Robert’s wife Suzanne, is called in to save the day.

Hopelessly outmatched in the man’s world of corporate leadership Suzanne not only saves the company but settles the strike, improves profits and gives two-timing Robert his due.

Did we see this before in “Nine to Five?” Yes, but Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton put together did not do it with the panache of Deneuve. She does not even have to move to drive the men wild. Which is good, because she cannot move. When she walks her lower legs move and that is all.

Speaking of not moving, Gérard Depardieu shows up as old flame and town mayor Maurice. As of 2005 he was putting away five or six bottles of wine a day when stressed and trying to keep it down to three or four when relaxed. Five years later he is not looking all that well, but it is great to see him anyway.

The opening scenes and soundtrack are more reminiscent of American TV of the 50s and 60s, with music from “Father Knows Best.” Is Deneuve intentionally making fun of Donna Reed? If so, OK, but she had better steer clear of Barbara Billingsly from “Leave It to Beaver.”

Billingsly is funnier than Deneuve will ever be. Perhaps it is guessing about the incongruent nature of the story that is most of the fun. Are we supposed to be serious about this? Is the joke on us, or are we part of the joke?

The 1977 setting provides some wonderful nostalgia for the old folks in the audience. Could it be that the movie is aimed at the over-50 set? Maybe that explains the disco dance floor scenes. Are these shots intended to take us back to more carefree times? Times before AIDs when all we had to worry about was where to get that next bag of coke.

The fact is that the film could just as well have been set in 2010. The battles that women fight to break the glass ceilings in corporations are just as real now as they were then. In fact, the battles about abortion and a woman’s right to control her own body are just as real now, as well. So what is the point of the 1977 setting? A present-day setting could have had the exact same storyline and, perhaps, would have resulted in a more focused screenplay.

Although it is tempting to write off “Potiche” as a failed junket by performers who have little to lose, it is a thrill to see Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu again. Even though Deneuve dances like a tree and Depardieu looks like a corpse.

Any viewer with an ounce of respect for films is forced to admire them both for sticking their necks out for this barely believable screenplay. When she sings she looks as if she is bleeding her last ounce of self-respect right out into the audience.

If you love French films and have an ounce of nostalgia in you, and you are prepared to split at least a bottle of wine with someone before you attend, and sneak another bottle into the theatre, you should see this film. You will not care if Dep lost his liver ten years ago and Cath lost her voice ten years before that. They are fun people and this is a fun film.

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Directed by: François Ozon
Written by: Pierre Barillet (play), Jean-Pierre Grédy (play) with François Ozon adaptation
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu and Fabrice Luchini 
Release Date: June 10, 2011
MPAA: Rated R for some sexuality
Runtime: 107 minutes
Country: France
Language: French
Color: Color