Potiche

In a small provincial town in 1970’s France, a factory owner’s trophy wife must take over the business when her husband has a heart attack. Her family laughs when the idea is suggested; mom has never worked a day in her life. But as the daughter of the factory founder, Suzanne (Catherine Deneuve) has been visiting the umbrella factory since she was a little girl. Cheerful, bright and extremely observant, Suzanne has paid close attention.
 
The source of Robert’s frustration (Fabrice Luchini) and the cause of his heart attack was a general strike, and struggling finances. Whenever Suzanne attempted to offer advice she was quickly shot down and put in her place. But now in the driver’s seat Suzanne takes charge, introduces new products, brings her children in as employees, and settles the strike. In three months she completely turns the company around winning the confidence of the board and earning the trust of the workers.
 
When her ungrateful husband returns from a convalescent cruise to reclaim his position he becomes jealous of Suzanne’s success and plots to kick her out. But she is not the same woman she was before. Suzanne fights to maintain control and prove that she is more than just a housewife. She refuses to go back to the way things were and she is hoping that everyone else will support her.
 
Presented with humor, Potiche tells the story of the women’s movement and highlights the worker’s plight at the same time. Gerard Depardieu plays the mayor and a union sympathizer and he and Suzanne have a past. In his youth, he worked for Suzanne’s father, and he and Suzanne have an intimate connection. He is excited about Suzanne’s new outlook but she isn’t ready to go from serving one man to serving another. It is her time and she is going to take it, for once she is ahead of her time.
 
Rating: First Run Catherine Deneuve as a woman ahead of her time