A still from ‘Madame Claude’
The biopic falls flat on its face, lacking the gravitas or attention to details necessary in painting a realistic cinematic portrait of this iconic woman
Madame Claude’s notoriety as a brothel keeper for the Parisian elite was at its peak from the swinging 1960s to the mid-70s. The “Lady pimp of the nation” had among her star-studded clientele list, the likes of John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando and the Shah of Iran. And yet, Sylvie Verheyde’s latest Netflix biopic on her decides to systematically peel away the layers of farcical glamour engulfing her life and persona, to reveal a personality that is in constant conflict with itself.