Film Review #2- Potiche

Yesterday, I went to see the French film "Potiche" with my mum. The film is set in the 70's, and is about "une potiche" (a "trophy wife"), Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve), who takes over her husband's umbrella company after he has a heart attack. Mme Pujol turns the company around during her time in charge- her kindhearted way of dealing with the workers' problems is a welcome change to her husband's unsympathetic manner.

I was really excited to see this film, after watching a trailer for it last week. I have to say, it didn't quite live up to how amazing I thought it would be, perhaps because I had such high expectations. However, I did enjoy it a lot.

One of my favourite things about the film was how it was bright, happy, and rather hilarious (in an almost "Carry On" way) in parts; yet the message or meaning of it was more serious.

Essentially, the film is about women's changing roles at the time it is set. As Mme Pujol tells her daughter Joelle in one scene, having an abortion had recently become legal, and more and more women were starting to go to work. In some ways, this is portrayed in the bright colour scheme of the film- in my opinion, conveying the excitement of a changing world.

I also loved the flashbacks in the film. They were cleverly done, with the "present day" characters talking over scenes from the past. And they all involve the same cheeky humour as the rest of the film.

The only thing that I disliked about the film was the ending. It seemed to trail off a little, not so that questions were left unanswered, but I felt as if it was needing a little more. I can't say anymore without giving away the entire plot, but let me know if you felt the same.

Overall, I'd rate this fim:
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Thanks for reading! Please comment! :)
Caitlin

P.S. I read a very interesting article from the Guardian website comparing Mme Pujol to Mrs Thatcher and Carla Bruni, and I'm thinking of looking further into this. Here's the article.