Of all the champagne brands, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin remains one of the most well-known and renowned. But how many people know the person behind the name? Indeed, unless you are versed in oenology and wine history, you don’t know much about the remarkable life of the woman nicknamed “the Grande Dame of Champagne”. Her name was Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot. In the film Widow Clicquotshe is embodied, in a very inhabited way, by Haley Bennett, to whom we spoke exclusively.
“I must confess that apart from the bottle of champagne itself, all I initially knew about the widow Clicquot was her famous portrait: that of an elderly lady. I knew nothing about her widowhood itself, all her family torments, and her incredible transition from a young woman “given” in an arranged marriage to François Clicquot, to a widow, a businesswoman and a pioneer in champagne-making techniques… In short, I knew nothing about this extraordinary woman,” confides the talented star of Swallow during an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
The screenplay by Erin Dignam (Land) is based on the 2008 biography of professor Tilar Mazzeo. After reading both books, Haley Bennett was captivated to the point of wanting to get involved not only as an actress, but as a producer as well.
“For my part, when I read the script, I was captivated from the scene where Barbe and François are talking hidden under the sheets, on their wedding night,” recalls director Thomas Napper, also present during the interview.
“The content of this scene seemed so modern to me, because even though he talks to her about Voltaire, what we have there, basically, is a man who offers equality to a woman, at a time when that was not the norm, far from it. It seemed right to me, and I fell in love with the characters, especially this woman, who ends up taking control of both her vineyard and her destiny. Yes, the film is about champagne and Barbe’s innovations, but the real subject is the journey of this woman, her rise to real power. All this, in a context that should have made it impossible.”
The director’s words resonate with Haley Bennett, who nods as she listens. When it’s her turn, the actress adds: “You’re holding this flute full of delicious bubbles, and you have no idea how much blood, sweat and tears it took to get to this point, and to build this empire.”
A multiple woman
One of the film’s interesting biases lies in its non-linear structure, with the protagonist’s past and present constantly intertwining, constantly responding to each other.
“I had a lot of time to prepare, which helped when we agreed on this structure. The character has not one, but two overlapping dramatic arcs. Thomas gave me a beautiful painting by Edvard Munch as a reference, in which we see three women: the first in a white dress holding her hand, the second in a red dress dancing with a man, while the third, in a black dress, observes the scene while holding hands. They are in fact one and the same woman, and the painting reminds us that we are all a multitude of people, at different stages of our lives. And like this painting, which presents this “individual multitude” in a single image, the film evokes the many facets of Barbe simultaneously, the past and the present coexisting.”
Haley Bennett explained: “I had a very precise vision of the character and its different modulations, and the fabulous costumes created by Marie Frémont [la série Marie-Antoinette] were a huge help to me. Marie was able to make sure that the different Barbes were clearly distinguishable on screen.”
Regarding the French costume designer, it is worth mentioning that Widow Clicquot is a co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom and France. In addition to Marie Frémont, the team includes other French collaborators in key positions, including the legendary Caroline Champetier as director of photography (The Little Lieutenant, men and gods, Holy Motors, Annette) and the no less renowned Richard Marizy for editing (Anthony Zimmer, La vie en rose/The kid, Jappeloup).
Most of the film was also shot in Chablis, in a magnificent ancestral manor. Incidentally, this highly evocative setting is one of the elements that pushed Thomas Napper to move the narrative construction from linear to non-linear.
“I always thought that in cinema, a setting could become a character, and this mansion turned out to be that. Due to its historical dimension, this vast residence housed the past and the present, intrinsically. On the first day of shooting, we filmed two separate scenes in the attic, one to take place early in the film, and the other to occur later. It is common to shoot all the scenes set in the same setting out of order, before moving on to another setting. But in short, that is where this association between the past and the present, which was natural in this house, was imposed,” explains the director.
He continues in the same breath: “In the Dictionary of dreamsthe house represents the person who is dreaming. For example, if you dream of a house full of hallways and stairs, it is a sign of complications and worries in your life. In this regard, our mansion was more than perfect to represent Barbe’s tribulations, with a present development that echoes a past event that occurred in the same place, or even in the same setting… »
Tragedy and triumph
When asked if playing a real person requires a different approach to acting than playing a fictional character, Haley Bennett, upon reflection, answers no.
“I tried to understand the woman, not the brand or the iconic figure, by focusing on the human aspect. As with any character. Rather than focusing on our disparities, I tried to find points of connection between Barbe and me: where do we meet, where are we similar? For Barbe, winemaking was an act of creation and a spiritual act, and for me, acting is exactly that: an act of creation and a spiritual act.”
Pausing, Haley Bennett concludes: “Barbe inspired me with her ability to transform a series of tragedies into a triumph that can still be measured today.”
The film Widow Clicquot hits theaters on July 19