Widow Clicquot: Film Review
I will always be drawn to films that shine a light on trailblazing women in history and Widow Clicquot is no exception.
Set in the Champagne region of France in the early 1800s, the film follows Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett), who became a widow at the age of 27 following the death of her husband Francois (Tom Sturridge). When her father-in-law Philippe (Ben Miles) insists on selling the vineyards, she refuses to let them go and takes charge of the wine-making business on her late husband’s behalf.
The men assume she has no idea what she’s doing but Clicquot actually helped her husband with his company. He taught her how to look after the vines and they came up with new wine creations together. But women do not run businesses and the Clicquot family and other Champagne producers frequently try to undermine her and take the land away. Thanks to her, Veuve Clicquot (which means Widow Clicquot in French) remains a luxury Champagne brand to this day.
I’m always interested in stories about women stepping into their power. While Clicquot was already involved in the wine-making side, she is new to the business side and managing the workers and telling people what to do. She has to find a way to command their respect and make money but the Napoleonic war is interfering with distribution. The film also flashes back to her marriage to Francois and their wine innovations.
Unfortunately, Widow Clicquot feels like an incomplete story. I know you’re supposed to leave them wanting more but stopping where it does isn’t satisfying. Sure, it makes a bold statement and the ensuing text explains the rest of her story but I would have liked to see it! Maybe not all of it (I appreciate it would’ve taken a while) but at least let us see her proving them all wrong! There was still so much left to tell.
Clicquot is a remarkable, inspirational trailblazer who defiantly ran a business in a male-dominated industry and Bennett does her justice. I was impressed by her consistent British accent (everyone in the film speaks English not French) and her palpable chemistry with Sam Riley as her lover, wine salesman Louis Bohne. They previously starred opposite each other in 2021’s She Is Love and you can tell they enjoy working together.
It’s rare for me to complain that a film is too short but Widow Clicquot is a prime example. I wanted so much more.
In cinemas from Friday 23rd August