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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Potiche (Film)

by Julian Shaw | April 18, 2011 15:05 | Edited April 18, 2011 15:06

While it’s largely lightweight, this delightful comedy is easily carried by the undiminished star power of Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu.

Catherine Deneuve is the "trophy wife" of the title, Suzanne, a submissive homebody whose life is transformed when her despotic husband (Fabrice Luchini) endures a workers' strike at his umbrella factory, and cracks under the pressure. Against type, the deeply domesticated Suzanne takes over her husband's work, and makes a bloody good fist of it. The prols might be happier, but a triangular conflict emerges when a Marxist mayor and ex-flame of Suzanne, Maurice (Gerard Depardieu), rears his head.

 

If it all sounds a little theatrical, well, that's because it is - acclaimed director Francois Ozon (Swimming Pool) is adapting from a clearly dated seventies play of the same name, and - by keeping his film in the same period - is seemingly tilting for an air of hammy, if sincere, breeziness. In this way, Potiche wraps you up in a delightful mood for large spells, and carries you along on an ethereal cloud of star power which only fades when the pacing lags.

 

It might not be as intense or cinematic as some of Ozon's other pictures, but it's best to think of Potiche as a Saturday-afternoon matinee that you can slouch and lounge through, untaxed but smiling. Even without lofty ambitions, Potiche finds moments to soar thanks to two aces up the sleeve: Deneuve and Depardieu. The two Gallic thesps roll up their sleeves and tuck into their work as if it's a bulging five-course meal, even though it's really just a piffle. These are the very definition of "star turns", where the actors are hardly camouflaged by their respective roles as housewife and politico - still, anonymity is almost impossible when you've achieved their kind of iconic status. This might be a typically French powder keg of rabid politics, class warfare and sexual liaisons, but you'll be too dreamily gazing at the ageing-but-undimmed star wattage to notice such serious linings.