Widow Clicquot

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Widow Clicquot
Widow clicquot film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThomas Napper
Screenplay by
Story by
Based onThe Widow Clicquot
by Tilar Mazzeo
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Caroline Champetier
Edited byRichard Marizy
Music by Bryce Dessner
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 11, 2023 (2023-09-11)(TIFF)
  • July 19, 2024 (2024-07-19)(United States)
Running time
89 minutes [2]
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • France
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.9 million [3] [4]

Widow Clicquot is a 2023 internationally co-produced period drama film, directed by Thomas Napper, from a screenplay by Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger based on the 2008 book The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo. It stars Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Anson Boon, Leo Suter, Ben Miles, and Natasha O'Keeffe.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023.

Plot

In Napoleonic France, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot is widowed by the early death of her beloved husband François, an unsuccessful winemaker. She refuses to sell her husband's vineyards and decides to use her own money to finance to the flailing business. She institutes unconventional planting techniques, despite the hesitance of her workers and her father-in-law Phillipe. She develops a pink champagne that impresses the Clicquots' friend, wine merchant Louis Bohne, and corroborates with him to smuggle champagne to Amsterdam in defiance of Napoleon's trade embargoes.

The shipment to Amsterdam is lost, devastating Barbe-Nicole. She begins selling off her material possessions in order to keep the winery afloat. However, Louis manages to get a few bottles to Russia, where the sweet wine proves popular in advance of the Great Comet of 1811. After Napoleon's exile, Barbe-Nicole and Louis take advantage of the chaos and begin selling in Russia in earnest.

Barbe-Nicole's success unsettles her male peers, and she is brought to trial for violating a law preventing women from owning business. Her accusers claim that she refuses to marry Louis as remaining a widow would allow her continued ownership of the winery. Barbe-Nicole lambasts her accusers. Louis publicly proposes to her, and she rejects him.

Epilogue cards reveal that Barbe-Nicole never remarried and the business would eventually become the Veuve Clicquot champagne dynasty.

Cast

Production

In October 2022, it was announced that Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Leo Suter, and Anson Boon joined the cast of the film, with Thomas Napper set to direct from a screenplay by Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger and Joe Wright set to produce. [5]

Principal photography took place in Chablis and Reims, France, in October 2022. [6]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023. [7] In November 2023, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film. [8] It had a wide release on July 19, 2024. [9] Netfllix in the US began streaming the movie from November 16, 2024. [10]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 80% of 69 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10.The website's consensus reads: "Centering around Haley Bennett's sparkling performance, Widow Clicquot is a visually impressive tale of resilience that leaves a pleasing aftertaste on the palette [ sic ]." [11] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [12]

Christian Zilko of IndieWire rated the film a grade B, commenting that "by swapping Bluetooth headsets for bodices, Napper and screenwriters Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger were able to drape their movie in a period aesthetic that should appeal to the arthouse crowd. But from its eureka moment when Barbe-Nicole develops her iconic rose champagne to its final title cards about the company's ongoing success, "Widow Clicquot" has all the same beats as the walk-and-talk business movie that you watched on your last flight." [13] Zilko highlighted the film's mixture of "non-linear narrative structure" and "three-cheers-for-capitalism narrative" along with the "draconian laws" around women in business. [13] He viewed the film as mostly "interested in celebrating the booze industry and the people who overcome needless restrictions to innovate in it." [13]

References

  1. "Widow Clicquot (2024)". BBFC . Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  2. "Widow Clicquot". Toronto International Film Festival . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  3. "Widow Clicquot (2024)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  4. "Widow Clicquot (2024)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2025. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  5. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 31, 2022). "Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge & Sam Riley Set For 'Clicquot' About The Rise Of French Champagne House". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. Goodfellow, Melanie (February 8, 2023). "Haley Bennett First Image In Champagne Drama 'Clicquot' Revealed As WME Independent Sets EFM Sales Launch". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  7. Erbland, Kate (August 3, 2023). "TIFF 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineup: New Films from Harmony Korine, Patricia Arquette, and Larry Charles". IndieWire . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  8. Grobar, Matt (November 29, 2023). "TIFF 2023 Drama 'Widow Clicquot' Starring Haley Bennett Acquired By Vertical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  9. "T&C Exclusive: Watch the Trailer for 'Widow Clicquot'". Town & Country. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. Moore, Kasey (October 19, 2024). "'Widow Clicquot' Sets Netflix Streaming Release Date for the US". What's on Netflix. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  11. "Widow Clicquot". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  12. "Widow Clicquot". Metacritic . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 Zilko, Christian (September 13, 2023). "'Widow Clicquot' Review: Bodices Replace Bluetooth Headsets in This Rags-to-Riches Champagne Saga". IndieWire. Retrieved June 7, 2024.