The best film you won’t go and see this week: Widow Clicquot reviewed

August is known as ‘dump month’. It’s when the most forgettable films are released on the grounds that people don’t go to the cinema much in the summer. But maybe they don’t go because the films are so forgettable? Either way, the best film you probably won’t go and see this week is Widow Clicquot. You may wish to make a note of that.

Shall I go on? With this film you probably won’t see? Better had. This space won’t fill itself. Some weeks I wish it would. But we all have our crosses to bear – plus it’s hardly coal-mining.

Although Widow Clicquot won’t blow your mind, it is a solid, if muddled, biopic of someone who was entirely fascinating, founded a great champagne empire, became one of the richest women of her day and whom, I’m guessing, you know nothing about.

It is based on a book by Tilar J. Mazzeo, produced by Joe Wright and directed by Thomas Napper from a screenplay by Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger. It’s a French story, obviously, but as it’s an international production it’s all in English. And it’s English English, rather than English with a French accent – which is a relief, as that’s always plain silly.

It stars Haley Bennett (who is also a producer) as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, whose husband, François (Tom Sturridge), dies when she is just 27 years old. She is nevertheless determined to keep hold of the wine-making estate – where she and François had been experimenting with the grapes – rather than sell it to Monsieur Moët (Nick Farrell), who wants her out the way.

This is the 1770s, so there is a lot of ‘women don’t do this kind of thing!’. But she manages to convince her father-in-law (Ben Miles) that she understands the vines; that François is in the vines – they both believe in talking and singing to them – and that the vines deserve her care.