Long the woman-behind-the-man, Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve) arrives at the presidential Elysée Palace in 1995 frustrated and all but cast off by her newly elected husband, Jacques (Michel Vuillermoz). Having always worked in his shadow to help his ascent to the presidency, Madame Chirac now fully expects to finally get the place in the political elite she believes she deserves.

In Léa Domenach’s whip-smart feature film debut based on true events, Madame Chirac’s rise from invisible political spouse to major media figure—as calculated as it was inevitable—is chronicled with equal parts reverence and wit, driven by Deneuve’s wryly memorable central performance. In French with English subtitles.