Movie Notes: Coco Before Chanel
= 4 stars
Starring Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola
Directed by Anne Fontaine
Synopsis
Biopic documenting fashion designer Coco Chanel’s rise from truly humble beginnings.
The Good
- Tautou is about 180 degrees away from anything I’ve seen (obviously, Amelie), playing a bitter, sullen, and withdrawn woman trying to grab onto even the first rung toward success. Simple things like Chanel’s gaze over other people’s wealthy clothing communicates a complex feeling of envy, distaste, fascination, and learning.
- Contemplates the source of creativity. The source of Chanel’s talent is kept tantalizingly enigmatic, it could be natural, person ambition, or inspired by heartbreak.
- None of Chanel’s famous designs are truly displayed until one late scene, yet it feels like a smart move to save their display until then.
The Bad
- Sags in the middle, in retrospect it took a long time to document not very much in the larger scheme of things.
- Inspired me to find a Chanel biography, but this could be seen as a failing of the film for not providing the entire picture.
Conclusion
In all respects a three star film, but as with Priceless, Tautou earns that extra star. Recommended.
IMDB: Coco Before Chanel
Wikipedia: Coco Before Chanel
Rotten Tomatoes: Coco Before Chanel 65%
Was a little lost durring the movie and started thinking about random things but it was good overall after you sit and think about it.