Florida Film Festival: Potiche

UPDATE: Potiche also opens at Enzian  on May 6, 2011.           



When Elizabeth Taylor passed away recently it felt like the end of an era of elegance and style, where substance mattered more than mere celebrity. Thankfully in that same week Catherine Deneuve’s latest film was right there on the festival circuit to remind the world that that era doesn’t have to end, not as long as she’s around and not as long as people are looking for things to be better.

            In Francois Ozon’s bright comedy Potiche Deneuve is emblematic of  many of the things pop culture often seems to ignore. At 67 she’s still stunning (whether her face is natural or not I don’t know; not; French women, I’ve heard, chose to preserve either their face or their figure but she seems to have done both). She exudes cool talent as mature lady whose strength and strategy surprises everyone (audience included). The film has elements of romantic comedy but doesn’t rely on them; it’s as thoughtful about issues as it is about creating characters and getting laughs.

            In fact, what could be more pertinent right now than workers rights vs. the amoral, avaricious petite tyrants of the business world? Deneuve plays Suzanne Pujol, heriress to an umbrella empire and trophy wife to Robert Pujol (Frabrice Luchini), who is exactly this sort of thorough creep. He’s a dismissive swine at home (and since it’s 1977 his sexism is de rigeur) while at work he’s inflexible, greedy and just far too comfortable in his power. “Paternalism is dead,” one charachter notes of the quaint humanity of business practices past – ‘today you have to be an asshole to succeed.’ It’s as true 2011 as it ever has been.

            When the mix of a worker uprising and family trauma give the piggy patriarch a heart attack someone has to navigate the business through this crisis. That someone has to be Suzanne, the gentle wife who was never allowed to do much more before this than buy appliances and scribble poetry.

            Entering the fray to avert a full-scale crisis the city’s leftist leader, Maurice Babin, whose no-frills populism is a perfect counterpoint to Suzanne’s cosseted warmth. Babin is played by Gerard Depardieu, who has gained a little weight over the years, but who cares?  Even with tthe inexplicable Buster Brown haircut there’s just something about the guy. He’s hot.

            And I’m not the only one whoe thinks so..

            Potiche pops with witty twists and turns especially in the last 30 minutes or so – this is no paint-by-number ending and though there’s a lot of feel-good moments threaded through it – it’s almost like a 21^st Century French Nine to Five at times – the surprises are gratifying and well-considered. It hits the 70’s style accurately, is deep, clever and makes good uses of the talent of its writers, designers and cast.

            It’s easy to get a little disheartened with a lot of the pop culture offerings in the world, but Potiche is one of those reminders that there’s still plenty of quality out there - if one chooses to look for it.