Trophy Wife

In late 1970s France, the stingy factory owner Robert Pujol is startled into silence when a workers' strike over wages leaves him reeling with a heart attack. While he recovers, his wife Suzanne, who grew up under the shadow of the family business because her father built the factory, steps into the management role. The change of power isn’t just about money, it touches every corner of the plant from the shop floor to the boardroom. The film follows their evolving dynamic and the way employees respond to a new mistress of the ledger, a wife who sees opportunity in the chaos. Humor arises from social misfires, competing loyalties, and the blurred boundary between love and authority, without losing warmth.

Directed by Francois Ozon, Trophy Wife adapts a stage comedy by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy. Released in 2010, the film features Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, with Fabrice Luchini, Karin Viard and Jérémie Renier in supporting roles and casting.

The film grossed about 1.6 million dollars worldwide, indicating a modest commercial performance outside France and a Paris centered release that drew interest from fans of the cast and a steady turnout in select venues across European cinema circuits too.

The collaboration of Deneuve and Depardieu under Ozon gives Trophy Wife a distinctly French flavor, blending old world theater wit with a contemporary cinematic tempo. The film is noted for its stylish production design, sharp dialogue, and its memorable take on gender and power dynamics in a family run business.

Critics praised the brisk pacing and witty interplay that lets social critique slide by with charm rather than heavy satire. The central themes center on autonomy within a marriage and a business, the reshaping of authority, and the tension between affection and ambition, resonating with audiences beyond France globally today.