The great Catherine Deneuve stars as Bernadette Chirac in this entertaining comedy, which is based on actual events.
The film begins in 1995 when Bernadette’s husband, the philandering Jacques Chirac, (played by Michel Vuillermoz) is elected president of France.
Bernadette, who has tirelessly supported him through 39 years of marriage, steps forward to receive the recognition she deserves. Instead, he brushes her aside as cold and old-fashioned (they are both 62).
Her media adviser, Bernard Niques (Denis Podalydes), tells her she needs to change her public image and she embarks on a program to give her a new softer look.
She consults her favourite designer, Karl Lagerfield (Olivier Breitman) for a wardrobe makeover and becomes a shrewd political campaigner.
She has long endured her husband’s endless affairs but it is confronting when he is publicly exposed in 1997. Princess Diana has been killed in a car crash in Paris and the president is embarrassingly nowhere to be found.
Eventually he is tracked down to a room in Italy, where a woman takes the call. “Giacomo,” she says, “someone wants to talk with you.” The call is on speakerphone with Bernadette and the entire search team listening.
Jacques Chirac is portrayed as a classic opportunist who gradually learns to respect his wife’s ability.
Director Lea Domenach, who co-wrote the script, cleverly blurs the lines between fact and fiction – though we are told in the opening sequence that the film is “above all a work of fiction”.
Deneuve, at the age of 80, has lost none of her skill and charm and is outstanding as the neglected wife who blossoms as a clever political strategist.
The President’s Wife is now showing at Luna Leederville, Luna On SX and the Windsor Cinema.
Watch the trailer…
