Haley Bennett toasts trailblazer in ‘The Widow Clicquot’

Although French Champagne seems as timeless as the Mona Lisa or the Eiffel Tower, one of its best-known brands, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, was actually invented and perfected in the early 1800s by a woman whose trail blazing methods and innovations continue to be used today.

“The Widow Clicquot,” in theaters Friday, tells the inspiring story of Barbe Nicole Ponsardin (Haley Bennett, “Hillbilly Elegy,” “Cyrano”) and how her inventions, leadership and risk-taking saved the family business that still bears her name.

“‘The Widow Clicquot’ is a story about the rise of the Grand Dame of Champagne,” said Bennett, 36, who is also among the film’s producers. “But I was more interested in her personal struggles and what she had to overcome to find her voice. That’s something that I can relate with.

“We set out to make a film that was cinematic, not a commercial for Veuve Clicquot. That’s why we made the film independently.

“And while Clicquot is a household name and it was important to us to have the blessing from the brand, oddly, most people don’t know the woman’s story behind the iconic label.”

Born into wealth – her family hosted the Emperor Napoleon and Josephine – Barbe Nicole was married at 21 to the wine maker Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge).  They had a daughter; he died when she was 27, a possible suicide.

“The story I wanted to tell is this woman’s archetypical journey from a shy, timid girl to an independent woman. A soulful creative force who found the strength to overcome tragedy in a film that is about grief and righting the wrongs of the past.

“That sees there is a thin veil between grief and love. That without love, grief can’t exist,” Bennett said.

“I’m interested in what compels us to create. I feel that pain and loss can be a powerful motivator. (Madame) discovered her own strength and purpose through something that happened to her that was tragic.”

Bennett leaned into much of Madame’s history “to bring forward a story of this woman,” she said.  “The source material came from Tilar J. Mazzeo’s New York Times best-selling historical narrative. I consulted with the estate. I saw the house in which she lived, and the one she lived with her husband. I met the historian and I held and read her journals, which were translated for me.

“She was an extraordinary woman — and a very rich one! Before she was married, she came from an incredibly wealthy family.”