Raise a Glass to Clicquot - Film Review

Have you ever wondered about the story behind one of the world’s premium champagnes?

Janet and I made it to a lovely Sunday matinee screening of Widow Clicquot at Luna SX in Fremantle.

Best enjoyed with a cheeky drop lest you quickly grow jealous.

Rolling vineyards glowing in the sunset golden hour, French estates of the Champagne region with their softly lit moody interiors, faithfully reproduced period costumes of the early 1800s, and the immaculate cheekbones of Tom Sturridge make this a captivating visual feast indeed.

After the untimely death of her husband Monsieur François Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, portrayed by the remarkable Hayley Bennett, is left at the age of 27 to raise their young daughter and keep their business afloat during the chaotic tyrades of Napoleon Bonaparte.

There is a faint singing of glass throughout the film, akin to the sound of tracing one’s finger along the lip of a wineglass, that follows Barbe’s quiet grief and anxiety as she struggles against pressure to sell the vineyards to competitor Moët (yes, THE Moët!) and guilt over her husband’s memory.

Hayley Bennett is utterly exquisite and inspiring, fully convincing as a determined but not cold winemaker. Tom Sturridge, best known nowadays as lead in The Sandman tv series, plays the role of a romantic dreamer so well that even I had the overwhelming urge to slap him half the time for making Barbe’s life so difficult as a mother, wife, and business partner. His hoarse, breathy poetic declarations of loving are met with patient resignation by Barbe as she recognises a pattern in which passion alone doesn’t keep wine on the table.

The story is especially interesting for its insight into their revolutionary techniques in soil and vine cultivation, bottling, and in crafting sparkling wine.

Her passion, and her ingenuity combined with shrewd steadfastness, captures the vision of her husband faithfully and navigates incredible challenges such as her workers’, father-in-law’s, and competitors’ cynically low expectations for women made all the worse during a trade embargo. Even when offered lifelines to sell, to transfer her burdens to the shoulders of men, she refuses to surrender. She bravely navigates through it all and delivered a legacy that endures to this day.

Cheers to Madam Clicquot!

8/10.

Showing at Luna Cinemas.

* By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, including her regular Rarely a Dull Moment reports and film and theatre reviews, look right here!

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