May 16, 2012

Coco avant Chanel [2009]


The 2009 French movie, starring Audrey Tatou and directed by Anne Fontaine, follows the story of the famous designer before Chanel; it documents her stay at the Balsan mansion and her affair with the two men that played an important part in her life, each loving her as best they could.

One was the owner of the fabulous mansion in which she lived for a while, doing nothing more than entertain his guests; not a mistress, but not quite a wife, either. The other, the one who eventually captured her heart, was Boy, an English businessman she met during her stay with Balsan. Etienne offered her a place to stay, companionship and kindness, whilst Boy was the love she never believed could exist. It was a rather bittersweet story and certainly not a happy or inspiring one, but it had its wonderful moments and it portrayed Coco Chanel in a different way, by focusing on her earlier life and her journey to the woman we all know now.

From a filmmakers point of view, the film was visually beautiful and nicely directed, although I would have liked more color and a more artistic approach to the cinematography. I liked how they showed that Coco was always paying attention to details and shapes and accessories, and it was interesting to find out that she first started in the business by making hats. The costumes were fantastic and I instantly fell in love with her black dress from her first trip with Boy to the casino; her runway show at the end was also stunning and I love the style and the transformation from the poor girl in the orphanage to the successful Parisian designer. In a world of corsets, pastels and overly accessorized attires, she stood out with dark colors, masculine style and stripes. She knew exactly what she wanted and she was lucky enough to have both Balsan and Boy close to her to help her achieve it.

Casting-wise, I thought all 3 were perfectly chosen for their respective parts. Tatou's performance in this movie was beautiful. I like to think of her as a modern Audrey Hepburn, but French and only slightly less charismatic. She knowingly surrenders herself to the somber, strict and straight forward character of Gabrielle and shows a wide range of layers and subtleties to a rather enigmatic person. Although she was thought to be an introspective, elegant and cold woman, she did have her moments of happiness and childish behavior, but only Boy and sometimes, her sister, were the ones fortunate enough to witness it. Benoit Poelvoorde, as Etienne, the older, but always entertaining man, went from portraying an interested boy, to a naughty lover, to a jealous man in just a couple of months spent with Coco, and gave a wonderful performance. Alessandro Nivola played Boy with a natural charm and sensuality that would conquer almost every woman...I admit it, I fell for his act, and I do find it believable that Gabrielle did, too.

All in all, Coco avant Chanel was an interesting movie and an enjoyable way of spending an evening. If you are interested in fashion or if you love Audrey Tatou, I recommend it.

12 comments:

  1. I never saw this one, but I love gorgeous costumes and Tautou so I'll definetly see this some day. Great review!

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    1. Thanks! I hope you'll see it, it's pretty good!

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  2. I found this one a little bit boring, but I do agree the acting was great.

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    1. It was in some parts, nothing really major happened, except for the end, of course, but I enjoyed it!

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  3. I had just read Coco Chanel's biography before watching this, and it was the time I was planning on a career in fashion, so I was really in to the topic - and I really liked the film. Perhaps I won't like it as much on a second watch, but I'm sure I'll still love the costumes, Tatou... oh, and the soundtrack! It's still on my ipod, I think it's very good.

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    1. The soundtrack? hmm..I didn't notice it as much as you did! Nice to see you liked it, the costumes were, indeed, wonderful!

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  4. I saw this film last year. Truly a gorgeous and well-made bio-pic that was more about Chanel the creator and person in part of her life rather than her entire life.

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    1. I liked the fact that it focused more on her personal life, we got to know her better as a person, not a designer. Suggestion: make a movie about specifically her initiation into the world of design and what happened after Boy lent her the money.

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  5. I wanted to love this movie, I mean being a fashion fan and also fans of the cast. But somehow it's not as engaging as I'd like it to be, but agree that Alessandro Nivola is great to watch, as always. I wish he were cast in more films to be honest.

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    1. From a fashion point of view, it wasn't engaging, I agree, but I don't think that was the point of the movie, anyway. And yes, Nivola is great (he is married to Emily Mortimer, did you know that?)

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  6. I wrote about this film a while ago as well. I had seen it during its initial theatrical release and I liked it, but it languished in parts for me.

    But you are right about the whole fashion aspect of it. Besides it is beautifully shot and well cast.

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    1. It did languish in parts, but overall I thought it was a good movie!

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