With François Ozon’s new film “Potiche,” it’s easy to agree on a couple of things. First, the French know a thing or two about staging a farce. Second, Catherine Deneuve is a terrific actress who can possess both the sophisticated qualities of a woman while being authentic and relatable. One usually hopes for Deneuve’s characters to succeed. Therefore, by crossing the French farce with Catherine Deneuve, you get a charming, colorful romp called “Potiche.”
Ozon adapted and expanded “Potiche” from the popular French play of the same name and immediately thought of Deneuve for his lead “potiche” (in French, potiche refers to a decorative object that sits on a shelf; in slang, it refers to a trophy wife). Discussing the film at a screening earlier this month at LACMA, Deneuve explained that she immediately accepted Ozon’s offer. They had worked together on his film, “8 Women,” and she liked Ozon’s work – he takes normal situations and twists them in a bizarre manner. Deneuve also noted that she knew of the director’s meticulous and fast-paced shoots, and since she was in nearly every scene of the movie, she had to be in good physical shape.
In “Potiche” which is set in 1977, Deneuve plays Suzanne, a submissive housewife to her insufferable husband, Robert (Fabrice Luchini) a wealthy factory owner. When her tyrant of a husband becomes first a hostage and then ill, Suzanne must take over the umbrella factory, and to everyone’s astonishment, she excels, proving herself an incredibly competent businesswoman. Along the way she reconnects with an old flame and former union labor leader, Maurice Babin (Gérard Depardieu), now a hopeless romantic who assists in settling a strike.
Deneuve embraces her role as domesticated Suzanne with enthusiasm. From the opening shots we see Suzanne decked out in a smart, red track suit with curlers in her hair. She’s almost on the verge of being a modern, liberated woman, except for the curlers (something Deneuve contributed to mark Suzanne’s uptight frumpiness).
As Suzanne blossoms into her role as businesswoman, her entire demeanor changes – she now wears chic, colorful outfits, humanely manages her employees and is completely at ease when addressing the media. Visually, the colors onscreen also take on a brighter Technicolor hue. Son, Laurent (Jérémie Renier) designs colorful umbrella patterns and matching raincoats (Deneuve’s earlier film, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” is an obvious reference). She’ll even burst into song at film’s end, embracing the public as her children. Suzanne has escaped her gilded, trophy wife cage and is now a woman of the world.
Ozon commented that setting his tale in the 70’s provided the right amount of distance so that points like feminism and workers’ rights in the workplace can be made through satire. If he had set the film in the present, the message would have been conceived in a much heavier manner. Luckily for us, Ozon’s creative adaptation, including casting Deneuve as Suzanne, beautifully comes together in the fun, farcical, “Potiche.”
“Potiche” is 103 minutes and Rated R. It opens today at Landmark Theatres.
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