Potiche [DVD]

Boasting an excellent cast on good - but not quite great - form, with Catherine Deneuve giving one of her liveliest performances, Potiche is an enjoyable French battle of the sexes comedy that still leaves you feeling it could have been even better. Based on a 1980 play by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy and set in a convincingly familiar recreation of the 70s that doesn't over egg the pudding and keeps the design in the background so it doesn't overpower the jokes, it sees Deneuve's ageing poetry-scribbling trophy wife who no-one takes seriously suddenly thrust into the hot seat and replacing husband Fabrice Lucini as the head of the family umbrella factory. Naturally she's only there as one of his manoeuvres to outflank the striking workers, but just as naturally she turns out to be much better at the job than he is...

It may be a filmed play but it's pleasingly cinematic without feeling gratuitously opened out, Ozon even throwing in a nice little nod to Jacques Demy with some colourful umbrellas that would have been just the thing in Cherbourg drawing Deneuve's approval. Unfortunately it loses its way a little after a boardroom coup only fuels her ambition in a last act added by director Francois Ozon to play on the then-recent election campaign that saw Sarkozy come to power. Co-star Gerard Depardieu's health problems are occasionally noticeable and while it's pleasing to see him in good company again, the magic is never quite there in his scenes with Denueve though he's better in his underplayed scenes attempting to bond with Jeremie Renier. But even if it never quite works as well as it promises, there's still much to enjoy here, from the ailing Lucini's autopilot misunderstanding when Karen Viard offers him her `speciality' to the casual swipes at 70s sexism and kitsch tastes.

The UK PAL DVD offers a good subtitled widescreen transfer but is rather short on extras, and those there are are curious - costume tests, trailer and a lengthy selection of outtakes that offer a couple of amusing moments but also show a surprising amount of impatience and not always well disguised genuine irritation from some of the cast members (an impatient Fabrice Lucini in particular).

There are many things to enjoy in Ozon's latest film. First among these is the presence of Catherine Deneuve in one of her best roles in recent years. She is a very good comedienne and it is wonderful to see her holding centre stage in the film and doing it with such aplomb. She still has this incredible allure and glamour which gradually becomes more and more to the fore as the character is 'made over' for political success and her style becomes closer to how she is in real life, and the bouffant hair is reduced ... I found it a very well written role given the comic framework, and Deneuve manages to suggest all the dimensions of the character with a light touch ... or maybe that is Ozon's too! It is also amusing to see her playing against Depardieu, their past romance being rekindled to deliciously funny effect, and referring to other films as well. The rest of the cast match this inspiration - I particularly enjoyed Jeremie Renier in his 70s flares with the never-appearing girlfriend. The others are all brilliant too, Karin Viard shining as Mademoiselle Nadege ... just the name brings a smile! And at the end Deneuve gets to sing, which I always enjoy! Really the whole film is riotous, and if you enjoyed 8 Women you'll probably like this even more.

French director Francois Ozon first came to attention in the UK with his rather provocative Sitcom, and has since directed a number of interesting films, notably the Fassbinder homage Water Drops On Burning Rocks and an excellent study of sudden and unexpected widowhood Under The Sand.

There are have been a few misses as well as hits however, and for me Potiche (loosely translatable as "Trophy Wife") belongs to the misses. This tale is pitched at fairly broad farce for much of its length, and the characters failed to engage me whilst the moral behind the story seemed too trite and obvious to sustain much interest. Without the added patina of the French language and setting, it came across as a rather tired sitcom plot stretched beyond endurance.