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Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘The President's Wife': Causing trouble with Catherine Deneuve
Advertisement Bernadette Chirac also writes a memoir that gets her in trouble with her daughter, Laurence (Maud Wyler), but I'm getting ahead of the story here. 'The President's Wife' does two things differently than most biopics. Rather than showing us photos of the real Bernadette and Jacques Chirac at the end of the film, it frontloads them in the opening credits. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Catherine Deneuve as Bernadette Chirac in 'The President's Wife.' (Courtesy of Cohen Media Group) Courtesy of Cohen Media Group And instead of beginning with the familiar 'based on a true story' credit, Domnach gifts us with an onscreen choir who tells us immediately that we should not accept everything we see as truth. The choir shows up several more times, acting as a musical Greek chorus of sorts when they're not singing the 'Hallelujah' chorus or 'Habanera' from Bizet's opera, ' You don't need to know French history to enjoy 'The President's Wife,' but it would come in handy. Chirac was President of France from 1995 to 2007. The film begins in May 1995 just before Chirac wins the election. Bernadette is seen confessing to a priest that her intuition predicts her husband's victory. That intuition will become a major plot device, proving more accurate than President Chirac's entire cabinet of political advisors. Advertisement After helping her husband win the election, Bernadette believes that she will have a prominent position in the Elysée Palace as a reward. However, her verbal candor is seen as a detriment rather than an asset to her new position. Catherine Deneuve (seated) as Bernadette Chirac, Denis Podalydes as Bernard Niquet, and Sara Giraudeau as Claude Chirac in 'The President's Wife.' (Courtesy of Cohen Media Group) Courtesy of Cohen Media Group 'You're First Lady now, you can't always think out loud,' her daughter, Claude (Sara Giraudeau), tells her after Bernadette is too brutally honest with the media about a Cabinet member's personality. Claude has been her father's most trusted advisor for a long time; she favors protecting his image over dealing with familial ties and conflicts. Jacques would rather his wife be a silent ally while doing the charity appearances that are part of the First Lady's job. He has so little respect for her that she's not allowed to stand on the balcony with him in celebration of his win. Plus, he cheats on her in a very public scandal. Bernadette soon grows tired of the disrespect she's endured. Using the late Princess Diana as a model, she reinvents herself as a popular woman of the people. She collects money for children and even opens a hospital for teenagers who suffer from anorexia, the same disorder that affected her other daughter, Laurence. When Bernadette reveals that detail in her memoir after promising she would not, it drives a rift between mother and daughter. Advertisement Denis Podalydes as Bernard Niquet in 'The President's Wife.' (Courtesy of Cohen Media Group) Courtesy of Cohen Media Group That memoir is just one of the successful plans Bernadette hatches with Bernard (Denis Podalydès), the communications advisor Claude hired to teach her mother how to speak to the press. Though antagonistic at first, Bernard becomes a resourceful partner in crime. Watching Podalydès and Deneuve trade knowing glances as their plans succeed is a highlight. Her scenes with Laurent Stocker, who plays Chirac's successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, are also quite entertaining. Now in her seventh decade of starring in movies, Deneuve continues to glow onscreen. There's such beautiful mischief in her eyes, and she's at her most delectably dangerous when she's not saying anything at all. These services are employed in a fun comedy that bends the truth until it nearly breaks. In that regard, 'The President's Wife' follows the advice of Deneuve's character in 'The Truth': 'I never tell the naked truth. It's not interesting.' ★★★ THE PRESIDENT'S WIFE. Written and directed by Léa Domnach. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Michel Vuillermoz, Sara Giraudeau, Denis Podalydès, Maud Wyler, Laurent Stocker. At Landmark Kendall Square. 93 min. Unrated. Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sally El Hosaini & James Krishna Floyd's TIFF & LFF Feature ‘Unicorns' Gets North American Deal
EXCLUSIVE: Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to Unicorns, the cross-cultural romance that debuted at Toronto 2023 and went on to play at London, Palm Springs, Sydney and other festivals. The film stars Ben Hardy as Luke, a single father from Essex, England, who works as an auto mechanic and is forced to rethink his sexual identity when he unexpectedly falls in love with Aysha, a British Indian drag queen living a double life, played by Jason Patel. More from Deadline 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Dancing To North American Deal With Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate & LD Entertainment 'Stelios': Greek Box Office Hit Lands North American Theatrical Release Via Firestorm Entertainment HanWay Acquires More Than 100 Films From The Cohen Film Collection Including Buster Keaton & Merchant Ivory Pics The film is co-directed by BAFTA-nominated El Hosaini — who made waves at Toronto with Netflix pic The Swimmers — and BIFA-winning filmmaker-actor Krishna Floyd from the latter's script. Pic was produced by Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray of Maven Screen Media, Bill Pohlad, Kim Roth and Christa Workman of River Road Entertainment, and Phil Herd of Chromatic Aberration. Cohen Media Group's Robert Aaronson, Executive Vice President of Cohen Media Group, negotiated the deal with CAA, River Road Entertainment and Maven Screen Media. CMG will release the film theatrically later this year. Styler and Rattray said: 'We look forward to North American audiences discovering this sparkling, distinctive love story. Unicorns has found the perfect partner in the Cohen Media Group.' El Hosaini and Krishna Floyd added: 'We are thrilled to have the brilliant Cohen Media Group bring our unique film to the big screens of North America. Unicorns is a cinematic ride that we can't wait to take US and Canadian audiences on.' Robert Aaronson stated: 'Unicorns is a unique and remarkable film that beautifully blends cross-cultural themes and celebrates diversity. We are excited to share this story with North American audiences and are proud to partner with Sally and James in bringing their vision to the big screen.' Late last year Charles Cohen's media group hit choppy waters when the company was forced to sell multiple assets including British arthouse exhibitor and distributor Curzon to Fortress Investment Group. The company was acquired in a foreclosure auction involving multiple Cohen assets, including the Landmark cinema chain. CMG continues to acquire films for the U.S. and continues to own sales outfit HanWay Films in the UK. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch 'Wicked: Part One': Is The Film Streaming Yet? All The Songs In 'Severance' Season 2: From The Who To Ella Fitzgerald
