Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to snap your fingers! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the whirlwind of “Twisters,” the Western “The Dead Don’t Hurt” and the period drama of “Widow Clicquot.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the whirlwind of “Twisters,” the Western “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” the biopic “Young Woman and the Sea” and the period drama of “Widow Clicquot.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at including the whirlwind of “Twisters,” the Western “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” the biopic “Young Woman and the Sea” and the period drama of “Widow Clicquot.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the whirlwind of “Twisters,” the Western “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” the biopic “Young Woman and the Sea” and the period drama of “Widow Clicquot.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Set in France during the Napoleonic Wars, “Widow Clicquot,” now playing in theatres, stars Haley Bennett, as Madame Clicquot, a fiercely independent vintner who spurned convention by continuing to run the fledgling wine business she and her husband nurtured before his death. Steering the company, which still bears her name, through hard times, personally and professionally, she defies critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry. “When they struggle to survive, they become more reliant on their own strength,” says the Widow Clicquot of her grapevines. “They become more of what they were meant to be.”
CAST: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Anson Boom, Leo Suter, Ben Miles, Natasha O’Keeffe. Directed by Thomas Napper, from a screenplay by Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger based on the book “The Widow Clicquot” by Tilar J. Mazzeo.
REVIEW: Like the vines she so lovingly cares for, Madame Clicquot’s struggles—against weather, the patriarchy and restrictive Napoleonic trade embargoes—make her stronger. It’s a bit of an overworked metaphor, but screenwriters Dignam and Monger make it work in context to this very specific story.
At the heart of it all is Bennett, who not only highlights Clicquot’s determination and talent, but also the passion it took to stay firm, in the face of adversity, to become a successful female entrepreneur in a male dominated industry. What could have been a one-note performance, all determination, or all grief, is instead, a powerhouse mix of emotion. Passion, for her late husband, their dream and their grapes, drives her, but Bennett plays all the notes on the scale. Her Clicquot contains multitudes, beginning with heartbreak that bubbles up to become triumph by the time the end credits roll.
Handsomely photographed, with fine period details, excepting the English accents favored by the actors playing French roles, “Widow Clicquot” spends a bit too much time on the ins-and-outs of wine making, but, at an economical ninety minutes, it’s a toast-worthy testament to the Grand Dame and her indomitable spirit.
