‘The Richest Woman In The World’ review: Isabelle Huppert drama plays on a notorious real life L’Oréal heir

Dir: Thierry Klifa. France. 2025. 121mins

Isabelle Huppert is luxuriously cutting in The Richest Woman In The World. This family drama clearly inspired by  L’Oreal heir Francoise Bettencourt and the so-called Bettencourt affair, in which she gave a large chunk of her fortune to her close friend (and possible swindler) Francois-Marie Banier, boasts the dependable pleasures of watching wealthy people plot and scheme. But director and co-writer Thierry Klifa (All That Divides Us) never quite makes this fictionalised tale as deliciously nasty as one might hope.

The film lacks the killer instinct 

With a cast that includes Laurent Lafitte and Marina Fois, The Richest Woman In The World premieres Out Of Competition in Cannes before opening in France in late October, and has also sold to multiple territories. The Paris-set saga should do well in that country, but even international viewers who are less familiar with the Bettencourt scandal may savour this Succession-like look at the intrigue brewing behind the scenes of a vast empire.

Marianne Farrere (Huppert), the head of the influential Windler cosmetic company, has been convinced to do a rare interview in order to soften her public image. (This so-called ’Richest Woman In The World’ needs to show people that she is not another callous, out-of-touch elite – even though she most certainly is.) During the interview, Marianne meets Pierre-Alain (Lafitte), a gay photographer whose irreverent humour and effusive affection charms Marianne, who finds life with uptight husband Guy (Andre Marcon) stifling. Soon, Marianne practically adopts Pierre-Alain into the family, lavishing him with gifts and attention — much to the consternation of her daughter Frederique (Fois), who suspects he’s just after Marianne’s money.

Onscreen text explain that this narrative is merely inspired by actual events, but one can clearly see Bettencourt and Banier in Marianne and Pierre-Alain. And indeed, the two lead actors have a flirty, conspiratorial rapport that makes it easy to understand why this bored billionaire would be seduced by a handsome, charismatic younger artist who has a lover but treats Marianne like his true soulmate.

Huppert’s performance is superbly icy, her Marianne as someone who has become so accustomed to wealth that its trappings mean nothing to her anymore. The acclaimed actress is enchantingly blase about her character’s every financial indulgence, including redecorating her entire home with the ease others might change clothes. Her bond with Pierre-Alain isn’t sexual, but it is passionate, Marianne viewing him as a shiny new toy. Marianne’s delight in her pet’s fabulous stories and cosmopolitan air is in direct contrast to the generally dismissive attitude she shows Guy and Frederique, who she addresses in entertainingly withering putdowns.

Lafitte makes Pierre-Alain larger than life, although we always detect the faint whiff of calculated social climbing in his shtick – even if Marianne is blind to it. This photographer espouses his brash opinions and carries himself as if he belongs among the gentry, but Lafitte flashes a scoundrel’s spirit that leaves audiences waiting for Pierre-Alain’s ulterior motives to reveal themselves.

Alas, once the character’s outsized personality is established, it rarely has anywhere else to go. The Richest Woman In The World explains how these two became thick as thieves, but it’s far less confident in generating a compelling narrative out of Marianne’s growing desire to lean on him at the expense of everyone else in her life. Despite some dark jokes about the gilded cage of the rich, the film lacks the killer instinct to make this battle for power deliciously devious — or, conversely, surprisingly sympathetic and nuanced.

The ensemble is strong across the board, with Fois a standout as a daughter who has never won her mother’s approval. And Raphael Personnaz does consistently memorable work playing Jerome, Marianne’s unfailingly polite and muted butler, who wisely takes an instant dislike to Pierre-Alain and becomes increasingly determined to rid the family of this potential parasite.