Coco Before Chanel (2009) User Reviews

beautiful movie, but not all factual

[salterbach-612-414926 · 7/10 · 19 December 2009]

Overall, I liked this movie. Technically, it is a well made film, and well acted. I enjoyed watching it and recommend it for a good entertaining film.

However, I just want to say that the film is not always that factual, at times. I would recommend reading a biography of Chanel (such as "The Gospel According to Chanel") to get a more realistic idea of her life.

This film has some fact, but also includes some idealized fantasy of her, which makes for good storytelling for a film. The film is good; the factual part, not so much.

The film shows Chanel as very skilled sewing and as a skilled pattern maker - but I believe in real life she was not that skilled; she could sew straight seams, but not necessarily intricate tailoring; she was more the creative genius with the fashion vision; she hired the skilled seamstresses and hired someone to make the patterns from her ideas and her rougher designs.

This film does cover the early part of Coco Chanel's life - up to about the beginning World War I. And in fact, it was because of the start of WWI in 1914-18, that Chanel got her big break in designing fashion - but the film does not include that historical background.

(As an aside, I think that a film would not have been made to cover her whole life, because during World War II, Chanel did live in Paris with a Nazi lover for a few years - and the whole part of her WWII years is usually hushed up. She then later lived in exile in Switzerland after the war with her ex-Nazi lover. So, they would not want to have included this unpopular part of her life in a big budget film, as it would be too controversial.)

Beautifully made

[Hannah_Winter · 8/10 · 3 May 2009]

It may be a subject that will not automatically appeal to many. However, this movie is certainly worth watching.

Audrey Tautou, complete with all the mannerisms and dark looks of Coco Chanel, plays a magnificent role. We start of at the miserable beginning of Gabrielle Chanel's life, in an orphanage. It quickly becomes clear that this is not the story about some high-society woman who got bored and decided to make clothes in a style that was unheard of at that time, even for people who don't know anything about the life of Coco Chanel. We see her, slowly but surely, clawing her way up in society, using her charm and wit, but most of all: her outspokenness, always telling what she thinks.

Cinematographically, this film is outstanding too. Throughout the film, certain elements of clothing (black and white patterns, stripes, men's shirts) are shown through an unclear lens, to point out that even the most early views of Coco on fashion were incorporated in her style later.

This film is not just a story about Coco's success, it's also about her struggle to fit in in a society that differed so much from her own opinions, about her losses and heartaches. All in all, we get a complete picture of the icon that is still loved and admired today.

It looks and feels great, but lacks magic, and the events are more interesting than moving

[secondtake · 7/10 · 15 March 2010]

Coco Before Chanel (2009)

Audrey Tatou has had a heck of a time maturing from her astonishing role in Amelie (2001), and if she showed her young true self better in He Loves Me (2002), she faltered badly in The Da Vinci Code. Now, playing the young Coco Chanel, she seems to have some solid footing. Oddly, it is partly by playing a part that requires seriousness, even a dour gloom. It's a solid role and a good performance.

The idea of the story is odd, in a way, because it shows very little of those turning points in Coco Chanel's early career as a fashion maven (and this is what we really are dying to see). This really is before Chanel, the brand, and at first it comes off a little routine, showing the young years, and her trying to get out of having to do silly song and dance acts. Eventually she moves up and meets people of influence (the two always go together, don't they?), and turns a corner by making hats for some well off women who have taken to them, and to her.

What makes the movie interesting is Chanel's relationships with other men, two in particular, and in the general libertine scene she found herself joining, if not always liking. She does find love, maybe twice (one more paternal, replacing the father who abandoned her as a child). And all three male actors are spot-on believable.

As is Tatou. The whole affair is interesting but with little magic or surprise. It's well made and well paced and you won't get drowsy, but expect a routine exploration. And learn something about a truly self-made woman who would change the look of the Twentieth Century, head to toe.

A wonderful atmosphere, but...

[glitteh · 6/10 · 23 August 2009]

I love Chanel. I can't actually afford the clothes, but that won't stop me from liking them. Just like reading one or two bad reviews didn't stop me from wanting to see 'Coco Avant Chanel'.

The first part of the movie seemed very promising. It didn't take me long to like Coco's character, and everything seemed to have a reasonable pace. Then the movie zooms in on Coco's relationship with 'Boy' and you keep hoping things get interesting, but they don't.

I spent most of the movie admiring the wonderful atmosphere while the lovebirds exchanged meaningful looks. I would have liked this movie more if it paid more attention to things like Coco's hat shop, rather than a relationship of which we all know the ending anyway.

The best thing about this movie is the wonderful atmosphere, but if you don't like slow romance you can skip this one.

A Nutshell Review: Coco Before Chanel

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 23 August 2009]

Directed by Anne Fontaine and based upon the book by Edmonde Charles-Roux, Coco Before Chanel is a biographical tale of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel set a timeline which is just that, before she founded the fashion empire. So for those who are more intrigued about the fashion world and the impact Chanel has on it, then this is not the movie you're looking for, as it firmly dwells on Coco as a person, and her romantic dalliances with two men who played significant roles in her life, be it in support of her daily sustenance, or inspiring and providing fuel for her desire to make a name for herself.

The film dedicated plenty of time in Coco's awakening toward the French high life of the time, since she became a voluntary kept mistress of rich playboy Etienne Balsan (Benoit Poelvoorde), who in a way had rescued her from poverty, and whose riches afforded to her provided that access to the slacker lifestyles of the rich and famous. The audience too get reminded time and again of how stifling a woman's place in high society was at the turn of the century, made worse by the restrictive clothing like corsets, frills, and lace from the neck right down to sweeping the floors. Coco's disdain and penchant for freedom led to bold designs that do not conform, starting from her hats which provided her some attention and notoriety even.

As Coco Chanel, Audrey Tautou epitomizes that level of elegance, vulnerability and rebellious streak to do things differently. Her petiteness and somewhat boyish cut figure probably suited the role really well as the initial designs by Coco were those inspired by menswear, though you only get glimpses of her design genius from short montages scattered throughout, and from some scenes which show her working at a tailor shop, but other than that you will gain very little from this bio-pic other than the messy love life that she got herself into, first with benefactor of sorts Etienne, who treated her nothing more than an object to bed in exchange for lodging, then Alessandro Nivola's Arthur "Boy"Capel, a businessman with whom she falls head over heels with. The romances do make you wonder about how careless the treatment of emotions are, where love and issues of marriage are quite trivially handled.

While Anne Fontaine nailed down the look of the film, the feel somehow was found to be lacking, as apart from the romantic angle, nothing else really rang through until the last act, which was a very hastily down finale to show the tremendous progress Coco had undergone once she had closed her heart, where she had broken through a society and introduced radical changes to an industry, from hats to influencing a lot more in the fashion world. How she did exactly that, is best left to another film because this one had little else other than repeated shots of scissors going through fabric.

Without a doubt the clothes here are the star of the show, from the fashions of societal norms in both directions of the rich-poor spectrum, to Coco Chanel's designs for her own with her menswear inspired pieces, and unfortunately, the glamour-chic pieces only making it through in a parting shot at the finale, since the founding of the business empire was grossly passed over deliberately. The opulently designed clothes of that era stand in stark contrast to the Chanel pieces, which celebrates sheer beauty and elegance in their simplicity, and probably from there, stamping its mark on the fashion industry.

Don't approach this film with an expectation that you would learn something of the beginnings of Chanel the brand and how it became the icon of today. In fact, it's more about the love and early life of its founder, who without her accomplishment and the name backing her, could have turned out to be nothing more than a generic, average, and perhaps even strange romantic picture. And of course, this is also for Audrey Tautou fans who'll lap up her look as Coco Chanel in those chic garbs.

Does what it says...

[ahifi · 7/10 · 23 July 2009]

Coco avant Chanel focuses, quite literally, on the roots of Coco before the whole Chanel business.

I noted the movie seemed to frustrate those with no grasp of the French language at all. Many seemed to go in unaware that the movie was set before her 'Chanel' days and I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment at the end from others; via looking at their faces, overhearing conversations and talking with friends. It's interesting, but it does plod on very slowly.

We are treated to a very rude, harsh character in Coco. Full credit goes to Audrey Tautou for her performance though. She really does fit into this movie's feel and tone very well. Her cheeky performance is definitely a highlight.

I don't know what to make of Alessandro Nivola as 'Boy'. The character was and looked rather sleazy. I'm not sure if that was meant or if that was Alessandro. Other than that, mentions go to Benoît Poelvoorde for his solid performance and Emmanuelle Devos as the sexy and self-assured Emilienne d'Alençon.

Other than that, it's a solid biopic. 7/10

Coco before Chanel

[cinematic_aficionado · 6/10 · 31 July 2009]

"Coco before Chanel" is exactly that; the life of an impoverished girl up until the start of what became a fashion empire.

This I must say is a different kind of a biopic. There was some sort of subtleness about it, everything was going too slow and not much was happening in terms of demonstrating that this hopeless little girl from nowhere had this extraordinary talent for cloth-making. Yes we did see her advocating simplicity in times of great extravagance and even dressing up (probably) her first clients but had the viewer not been aware of the brand "Chanel" he or she would have to wait until the finishing titles to realise Coco turned out to become a fashion icon.

If there is one thing about Coco is that she was a rebel; in a late 19th century puritan society she stood up for what she believed, refused to get married and instead of settling for a wedlock with a rich spouse she chose to live the adventure, go to Paris and start up a hat shop.

It seems however that her rebellious nature extended to her design skills. To use her own words: "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." Coco Chanel always kept the clothing she designed simple, comfortable and revealing. Unlike most designers in that Europe, she kept the woman inside the clothes at the center of her creations. "I gave women a sense of freedom; I gave them back their bodies: bodies that were drenched in sweat, due to fashion's finery, lace, corsets, underclothes, padding." Perhaps it was fate or desperation from her impoverished upbringing but the affair with the playboy millionaire and, later, his best friend were pivotal to give her the push she needed to make a start. Though not an expert on French upper class culture but were quite impressed how civilized and elegant the two men were when it came to loving and pursuing the same woman.

All in all a decent film but no wow factor.

Elegant and Powerful Work of Passionate and Intelligent Beauty

[aharmas · 10/10 · 4 October 2009]

Seeing her work in "Amelie" hardly prepares the audience for the depths and complexities one can see in "Coco". The film works because Antonie understands her material and because the lead performer couldn't be better. Audrey Tautou is regal, intense, gorgeous, and very determined in her portrayal of the fashion icon. Her turn brings to life the soul of a woman who was able to see beyond her times, who knew it was time to institute change to break out of what society expected of women, and most importantly, she did it in style.

The work of Antoine and Tautou, seen as the leaders of a team, showing the portrayal of how a young woman grows in her perception and understanding of what it is like being a female in the early 20th century. She knows the boundaries placed by society on her sex and, like most of us, fears exposing herself at first, but Coco is fearless, and she learns to conquer, earning respect and power along the way.

The film is very successful because it doesn't concentrate only on the politics of the time, but it spends a considerable amount of time, showing us the personal side of the icon and her relationships. It is a joy to see her in love, and it's inspiring to see how she manages to rise at critical moments of her life. There is fire in this performance, plenty of spirit and an elegance rarely seen in the movies anymore, and this poise is not only the result of the gorgeous set direction and costumes, but of the forces that live inside Coco's soul.

The last 15 minutes of the movie are practically unforgettable as Coco experiences a multitude of emotions, from intense and unbridled romantic love to a relentless intensity that now accompanies her desire to become the best. Seeing her sitting on the stairs as the movie ends, and watching her expressions change is the stuff most performers hope they can achieve once in a lifetime. Cotillard brought to life another icon and walked away with just about every accolade for her masterful work. Taotou continues to show the marvelous essence of French performers putting together a performance that can inspire us to believe there is still plenty of magic left in the movie world.

Beautiful but boring

[vanessalocke · 6/10 · 5 August 2010]

Pretty much everything about this movie is perfect. The costumes, the hairstyles, the cinematography, the story and it is just over all a very beautiful film. The only problem is, its slightly boring.

Gabrielle, nickname Coco (Audrey Tautou), and her sister (Marie Gallain) grow up as orphans and later make money as seamstresses during the day and singing at a bar by night. When her sister leaves her to get married to a baron, Coco decides to leave, too. She stays with a friend/lover where she meats the man that helps her change her life.

As I said, Coco before Chanel is a stunningly beautiful film. The costumes are obviously a huge part of the films look but I also loved the hairstyles. Cocos whole style is just gorgeous. I am so glad that it was filmed in French, which gives it a sort of authenticity that an English version would have lacked. Audrey Tautou is great, as always. She has such a strong presence on screen and is just so beautiful to watch.

Watching Gabrielle grow into Coco is very inspiring. It really shows that you have to stay true to yourself and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something or shouldn't wear something. The story itself is very interesting but it is told in a very slow way that made me constantly grab my ipad to play Farm Story. That is never a good sign.

www.themovieness.com

Meh....

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 27 November 2010]

I watched this film for two reasons--I like French films and I like Audry Tautou. However, about midway through the movie I realized that I just didn't care all that much about what I was watching. Perhaps you'll have a different reaction.

After being dumped at an orphanage with her sister by their indifferent father, the film jumps ahead 15 years. The two sisters are now singing in a dive--with hopes of getting out and getting a gig at a nicer venue. However, when the sister falls in love with some rich guy, the act falls apart. Soon afterwords, Coco herself moves in with another rich guy and becomes his lover--though why he would want such a dour and indifferent person was a major question that plagued me. In fact, ALL of Tautou's performance confused me, as she almost always seemed depressing to be with--yet, people oddly were drawn to her. It was almost like she was sleepwalking through life. In addition, it was very, very difficult to connect with not only her but anyone in the film--a severe deficit to the film unless there was more action and suspense. Unfortunately, there was almost none. In fact, where there clearly must have been some energy or excitement...there was still none. And, what irritated me most is that although a huge portion of the film took place during WWI, the war was not mentioned or even alluded to even once. You'd think that a war that resulted in at least 11 million deaths and the destruction of a third of France would at get a mention! And, after meeting her second lover (with which she spent nine years), you get the impression that he died only months later. As a result of this style of film making, the context for EVERYTHING is missing--and it's even worse at the end of the film where Coco appears to have aged very little--yet many of the models around her are dressed in clothing from decades in the future.

Unlikable characters and poor/confusing history make this a rather tedious film. Mildly interesting, but not much more...and it certainly SHOULD have been more engaging.

Like fine wine... to be savored.

[robert-259-28954 · 10/10 · 14 September 2017]

The single word that kept entering my mind when watching this little masterpiece of understatement, was, "Fine." In all my life, I have NEVER called a film, 'Fine.' But it seems that no other term so exemplified this superb gem of cinema. Naturally, it was Audrey Tautou's movie, but the entire cast was equally up to the task, a simple story so elegantly told that it surprised me with it's subtle but elegant power. It seems that every movie I see Tautou in, her face and magnetic presence is completely irresistible, and this is certainly no exception, moving from scene to scene with magnificence and grace, much like Chanel herself. American films are like drinking Coca-Cola, bubbly and refreshing, but gone in an instant. This movie was like watching fine wine grow from the dirt, then blossom on the vine, and ultimately become a thing of pure pleasure and beauty, something to be slowly savored and not rushed. That is the lasting impression this film made on me. "FINE," is indeed, the word.

Ma Vie En Sewing

[ptb-8 · 7/10 · 27 June 2009]

COCO AVANT CHANEL simply means Coco's life before Chanel as we know her now. So here is a film about her 'then'. This very well produced film has many pluses and two glaring and irritating minuses. On the plus side we have a costly film that displays delicious art direction and production values with lavish or complicated vintage scenes set in extravagant re creationed times or within gorgeous mansions and breathtaking seaside locations... all with superb costumes. However, this film, more about an hour of its running time suffers from the same annoying factors that spoiled the recent film MA VIE EN ROSE, the bio pic of Edith Piaf: 1: a cranky and rude personality who is ungrateful when benefactors assist and 2: idiotic photography closeups where the hand held camera darts about between people talking or following someone's hands when they are doing something eg: Coco is at a table sewing so the camera is gawking about in closeup of her reaching for things. There are several grand set pieces: racetrack and ballroom magnificence, well dressed and filmed and a fashion sequence later in the story that is (again) all too brief. The first 40 minuets of orphanage and cabaret misery and rudeness mirror LA VIE EN ROSE too much and only later when Coco falls in love with "Boy" (Alessandro Nivola) and they romance by the sea does the film lighten a bit and she actually for a few minutes becomes likable. Oherwise it is Gallic aloofness well dressed but at odds with allowing the audience in too far.

Luke Warm Coco

[movieguysla · 5/10 · 5 October 2009]

What do you want in a foreign period film? Beautiful locations? Check. Class struggle? Check. Subtitles? Check. All that's missing is urgency.

Coco Chanel is a French legend. The designer of the ground-breaking haute couture style, creator of the huge fashion brand Chanel, and a forward-thinker in terms of women's independence. Chanel is a complex and dynamic personality. Makes me want to see a movie called "Coco During Chanel". But "Coco Before Chanel"? Not so much.

Audrey Tautou does a commendable job of playing Chanel in her early years (and looks a lot like Chanel in the movie's later scenes). Adding complications to the idea is the fact that there is little known about Chanel's youth, and what is known often has conflicting stories. But be prepared, what does happen in "Coco Before Chanel", happens slowly. This, in a movie that portrays the French elite as people with crazy money, outlandish parties and a constant desire to quench their boredom. I desired the same.

Although she often denied it, Chanel was brought to an orphanage early in life (this was denied mainly to prevent preconceptions of her as an undesirable). The film sharply cuts to late teens/early twenties Coco (real name, Gabrielle), singing with her sister in clubs to make a buck. It was the plight of women in the 1890s to find a man or fear being lost in society. Coco's sister was beholden to a man for thirty years, and he FINALLY married her after his parents died so he wouldn't have to explain to them that he married an orphan (for shame!). This assnine mentality is certainly worth rebelling against, but Coco remains passive for too much of the movie. She is taken in by a wild playboy named Balsan (expertly played by Benoit Poelvoorde) and is mistreated by him for years. Chanel wants to answer to no man and wants to design clothes that avoid the feathers and corset that alter a woman's natural body. But again, this is done with little dramatic flair and many, many pages of slow-moving script. Coco came off as a little too inert for a little too long.

This movie is the first of the late-year potential Oscar nominees. Tautou's performance is a maybe, but the costume design is a sure thing, and rightfully so. The Chanel style is famous, they have to nail it, and they did, while also building gorgeous period outfits for the rich, end-of-century French culture and a few military outfits as well.

The score by Alexandre Desplat does a lot to enhance a few of the scenes, and the cinematography is lush. I want to give a special nod to Alessandro Nivola, who's very good here and very good in everything, but the guy doesn't appear in enough high-profile stuff. He sits very comfortably in the French language here and smolders in some of his more romantic moments like a poor man's Ralph Fiennes.

A traumatic event late in the film propels Coco to launch into her designing full speed. That moment felt a little rushed and the whole ending follows suit. What I wanted at the end was the "Coco During Chanel" movie to start, so, then, that could be kind of a success for the film? But remember, I wanted "Coco During Chanel" going in, so really, the whole 'before' story just felt like slow filler. Frills, perhaps? Padding?

disappointing

[starlit-sky · 6/10 · 15 September 2010]

When I first saw the trailers, I was excited. My mind went to another French movie, the biography of Edith Piaff "La vie en rose" which was great. This is a very flat movie. I really wanted to see how Coco Chanel built her empire. The movie doesn't show that at all. It doesn't even do a good job of showing her potential as an artist.

**Spoilers** She comes up as a very simply woman who is strangely content with being a mistress. All we see is her moving around in a great mansion, a hopeless romance, falling for the wrong guy and not realizing her dreams of marriage. And there are those short scenes where we see her tailoring a dress but that is it. It is only at the very end of the movie, maybe the last minute, the movie gives a glimpse of what she has become in the later years but even that is so lacking in spirit and very vague.

I have to say this is a poorly made biography about somebody whose character probably has more spirit and inventiveness than what this movie portrays. I like Audrey Tautou but she is not giving much life to her character which is probably due to the way the script is written. She doesn't have much depth.

Une femme extraordinaire, beautiful movie

[malcotoro · 27 August 2011]

Roger Ebert said Audrey Tautout was amazing in this film, she really is! And she looks a lot like Gabrielle Chanel... Alessandro Nivola, so handsome, American born he worked to learn French for his role in this, a tender romance. The atmosphere and mood is strictly Chanel No. 5, authentic I do believe, sophisticated and elegant. My brother lives now in France and I have to add a word or two with the description in French... ravissant, merveilleux... I did not find it "slow" and I was not bored at all as one reviewer commented. My goodness it's a romance and the director has crafted it carefully. The music score by Alexandre Desplat is lush and romantic (that word again!) finely orchestrated, I was at a loss when it finished... Oh incidentally check out "Coco and Igor", the wonderful companion piece to this "Coco avant Chanel" DVD Comment from Malcolm in Toronto Aug 2011

Chanel without perfume

[stensson · 6/10 · 19 September 2009]

I had my doubts and they came true. Coco "before Chanel" has her rich countryman lover. She becomes more and more independent and finally the relation is on her conditions. Besides, she's got her contacts and their money, which makes it possible for her to start that career.

This could have been about common women conditions in the past and the present, but instead it's a common melodrama. Audrey Tautou is never bad and never will be, but she uses the technique of acting by her eyes in a way which is becoming routine.

Not a really bad film, but not something you wouldn't recommend to somebody who wants serious questions put and get serious answers.

Mediocre film, but great visuals

[two-cents · 6/10 · 3 October 2009]

First of all, perhaps this would have been a better film if another actress had the lead. I don't dislike Audrey Tatou in general, but contrary to the love notes that other reviewers have written, I think she was very flat & boring in this rol. She is simply is too old for the story, which is the story of Chanel in her late teens and early twenties. Audrey T. is 33 years old in real life. The spark of that dewy youth isn't there. (I am not saying 33 isn't young, it's just that if you saw an actress of 20 next to her, the difference would be palpable. Or maybe it is the director's fault, because most of Coco's charm seem to be from these long, lingering close-ups of Audrey's big eyes---but her character was somber and brooding for a large portion of the film. Anyway, I think of Anne Hathaway's collegiate youth in the Devil Wears Prada, and that same youthful charm & energy just didn't come across in this film, albeit it was attempted to be conveyed with various different scenes, such as riding a galloping horse without knowing how to ride, etc.

Secondly, I agree that it was a very two-dimensional and simplistic movie. It could have been a Hollywood script, rather than the fact it was a complex biography of a real person in an important era of history.

But lastly, it was fun to see the fabulous clothes of an era, the lush settings and French ambiance. For that, it was fun to see.

Chanel's life before all the labels and glitz, as a film about a woman's graft and individualism many decades ago shines through.

[johnnyboyz · 7/10 · 28 April 2010]

I read, on the cover of the film's DVD case in fact, that an American publication entitled More Magazine stated this as being "the most stylish film since Sex and the City", a quite ludicrous and rather frightening comparison to a film that had no right to even exist. Whilst Sex and the City revelled in its labels and consumerism; rolling in them like a pig in its filth amidst flashy editing and colourful backdrops, 2009 French film Coco Before Chanel covers a woman certainly with an interest in clothes and clothing, but as an individual striving where she didn't need to; engaging in relationships with men, like the Sex in the City girls, but coming to identify with these relationships and putting her experiences in this field into her work. If there is a connection between the two, it's that women apparently work towards labels; only in generations of old, they were opinionated and strived towards the creation and manifestation of a label, of a 'vision'; but women of a more contemporary nature, at least going by Sex and the City's message, supposedly strive towards merely owning labels, and that life begins and ends in living amongst labels. Why the distributors went with this quotation in order to act as a chief sale on the film, I'll never know.

But to say Coco Before Chanel is good in comparison to the Sex and the City film is feint praise. In its own right, the film is an intriguing and involving piece telling the story of a young Gabrielle Chanel (Tautou) from her years at an orphanage right up to a successful premiering, during her later adult years, of her clothing and hat line in France. I found it refreshing in its documenting of a woman's progress in a male dominated world; its utilisation of the death of another male character so as to further the development of a lead female, rather than the other way around and its ability to unfold in a world rich in mise-en-scene but be able to retain that ability to keep an eye on how to reign in all the visualness unravelling to present humbling surroundings when needs be.

The film covers Chanel's early life; the people she met; the friends she made and the tragedies that befell her, with the first time we see her as a nine year old girl being delivered to an orphanage with her sister by her father. The world around her shot as this scary, looming place; the building in which she will spend the rest of her childhood standing tall through the slats in the tree branches during the drive up to the entrance. People are turned away from her, their faces off limits as Coco connects with what it is some of the people are wearing in the form of their headgear. But the first instances of what made Chanel so renowned is initially played down when she engages in it. The sequences of sewing or maintenance towards clothing are shot with a very greyed out cinematography earlier on, echoing her then attitudes towards such activities; with singing and dancing and performance given a highly colourful and extravagant hue on screen as she focuses on these items. One instance sees her perform in a large and lavish dining hall to an owner and potential employer in what is a rather colourful and vibrant sequence, but prior and subsequent scenes of the aforementioned sewing seems menial to our lead and thus, enclosed and unwelcoming greyish rooms echo where she is in life in regards to wanting to be a performer and an individual of fashion expertise.

Out of the orphanage, she strikes up a relationship with a certain Baron named Étienne Balsan (Poelvoorde), an individual she met in one of the bars in which she initially sang. Balsan lives in a huge manor house and has a foot in the horse racing community, playing host to a number of racing elitists of whom engage in fancy dinners and activity. Her relationship with Balsan is not just another Hollywood infused male-female relationship that sees a male over here and a female over there with the screenplay just daftly nudging them together when in the real world, they'd repel in an instant. Here, both characters seem to share a respective level. Both are outspoken, both are opinionated; Baslan talks of his relatives in a somewhat dismissive but brutally honest manner, as does Coco later on towards certain items of clothing those around her wear and both of them share an eccentricity that allows them to meet half way despite being of distinct richer and poorer respective backgrounds. We get the feeling these people share distinct characteristics with one another and operate on a particular plain. Later on, another relationship with Arthur Capel (Nivola) will open up enabling further development.

After bedding down at Balsan's manor house, Chanel remains firm in what it is she wants to do despite inhabiting a space with a number of other women whom are only too happy to submit to this objectified existence; her difference in attitude captured by way of the dress-sense, her 'dressing down' and encouraging others to follow suit – if not ideologically, then at least in terms of presentation. If there is any criticism to be aimed at the film, it's that it beds down towards the end a little and submits into consisting of mournful looking people standing around in rooms explaining to one another how they feel and whom they may or may not love. But it's a trivial thing. I went into the film not knowing a thing about Coco Chanel, but came out rather enthralled at both the story and more-so the manner in which it was brought to the screen by female, Luxembourg born writer/director Anne Fontaine; who allows her characters to both breath and progress on a respectfully observed palette.

A Balanced, Finely Tuned Biography: Tautou Glows

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 25 September 2010]

COCO BEFORE CHANEL may have been avoided by some who thought the film might be a superficial sob story about a 'little girl that makes good' - another cutesy venue for Audrey Tautou fans. Nothing could be further from fact. Instead Writer/director Anne Fontaine (with Camille Fontaine) adapted the book by Edmonde Charles-Roux into a screenplay that is a serious look at times in La Belle Epoque France, a time when a little orphan girl and her sister made the best of losing parents, learning a trade, and using their fortitude to move into the upper circles of a society into which their presence was forbidden. Yes, this could have been a saccharine mess of a movie, but due to the writing, directing and acting it is exactly the opposite: nothing can defeat an indomitable spirit.

The film opens in France of 1893 as we see two sisters, motherless and with a father that is unable to cope, dropped off to an orphanage. The girls mature into Gabrielle/Coco (Audrey Tautou) and Adrienne (Marie Gillian) Chanel, gain skills as seamstresses and popularity for their singing at little parties. Adrienne falls for a man of wealth and leaves Coco to develop her skills as a designer of chapeaus and dresses. Her independent spirit is mirrored in the manner in which she does away with the excesses of contemporary garb (feather, birds, fake flowers, lots of ruffles and flounces and trains) and dresses in a more masculine, yet still very sophisticatedly beautiful way. She is noticed by a gentleman landowner, Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde) and Coco decides to take advantage of the comforts of wealth, moving in as Étienne's secret guest. Through Étienne's connection she meets French actress Emilienne d'Alençon (Emmanuelle Devos) who eagerly approves of Coco's fashion instincts and uses Coco's clothes in public and on stage, introducing the genius that will become Coco Chanel. Coco also meets a British investor Arthur 'Boy' Capel (Alessandro Nivola in an astonishingly fine role) who provides financing for a studio in Paris where Coco becomes a popular fashion designer - and also falls in love with Boy only to lose him in a automobile accident. By this time Coco's no nonsense approach to fashion - simplicity and understatement - has taken hold and the film ends with a parade on the Chanel stairway of mirrors of her magnificent creations: the saddened by indomitable Coco sits on the stairs as her models parade before an impressed audience.

Audrey Tautou continues to grow as an actress and this may be her finest achievement to date. She portrays Coco as a strong woman with a vulnerability she is able to camouflage. The entire cast is strong, with special nods to American born Alessandro Nivola who delivers his entire performance in impeccable French. The cinematography of Paris and the countryside is beautifully captured by cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne, the gorgeous costumes are the work of Catherine Leterrier, and the musical score is perfectly placed in the always capable hands of Alexandre Desplat. But much of the success of the film rests in the brilliant direction of Anne Fontaine who has managed to give us a fully three-dimensional picture of not only the brilliant Coco Chanel but of the times in Paris that nourished her rise and forever altered the way women would be perceived as equal to men. Excellent!

Grady Harp

Classing it Up

[MyFilmHabit · 6/10 · 15 May 2011]

There was no better choice to play this iconic, fashion figure than Audrey Tautou. She's just so . . . French—100%, through and through. In fact, she does such a good job transforming herself into this grande dame that I'm never going to be able to watch another actress play Coco Chanel again without comparing her (probably unfavorably) to Audrey. All this, of course, bodes ill for my future enjoyment of Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. (I'm still watching it, though, because it actually picks up more or less where this film leaves off). The film explores Coco Chanel's humble, working class origins—singing in bars, and gold- digging from wealthy men. The movie actually portrays her as being quite brazen in the way she finagles favors out of the landed gentry. I guess when you haven't got much to lose, there's no reason not to just go for it. Still, it would take a very industrious, unabashed personality to do this. But then, pretty girls have always been able to get away with all kinds of outrageous things.

So, this movie is very grand and high-budget, with beautiful, refined people discussing very classy things. And, honestly it would be a bit of a snoozefest if I weren't interested in learning more about the historical figures involved. The fact that the film is about very fascinating people, and that we want to learn how they became what they're known for today, buys these actors a little more time to recite their dull, meditative lines, while smoking cigarettes and gazing into the mid-distance. It's all very stylish. But, as we all know, fashionable doesn't always translate into wildly entertaining. I'm not saying that the movie is tedious. The production value is wonderful, and the subject matter is very interesting. But, fortunately director, Anne Fontaine, doesn't get too carried away. The film clocks in at a thankfully restrained 110 minutes. I always appreciate a director who can realistically assess her work. So, I did enjoy this film. I'm glad I watched it. I was kind of obligated since it's one of those sweeping period pieces that panels love considering for various cinematic awards. But, it wasn't a chore (the way some others have been). Still, it's not a movie to attempt if you're feeling at all fidgety or distracted.

Audrey Poutou

[nickrogers1969 · 2/10 · 24 October 2009]

Audrey pouts dourly the entire movie except a few smiles to break the monotony. Not for a minute did I forget that it was Audrey on screen. They made Coco Chanel's interesting life quite dull. They could have included her German boyfriend during world war two, but they didn't. I could tell all along what was going to happen to her English boyfriend once he stepped in his car. I almost fell asleep.

Nice photography of the French countryside and mansion is the only worthy thing in this film. I had a hard time caring for anyone in the film. Rich people smiling or the unappealing Coco pouting is not enough for a full length film.

Audrey Tautou is magnificent

[ger55champ · 10/10 · 22 December 2019]

Incredible and touching acting from this wonderful French actress. Simply outstanding .Delightful movie about a creative genius of the 20th Century

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel...

[Thanos_Alfie · 6/10 · 3 May 2020]

"Coco Before Chanel" is a Biography - Drama movie in which we watch the life of Coco Chanel focusing in her adult life and her relationships. We watch her start in fashion and her way to the top of it.

I liked this movie because I learnt a lot about the life of Coco Chanel and her beginning in fashion, her tough early life and her relationships. Despite that I would like to watch more about her way until the top of the fashion and which obstacles surpass in order to achieve her success. Unfortunately this movie did not have any of this. I liked very much the interpretations of both Audrey Tautou who played as Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel and she was simply amazing, and Benoît Poelvoorde who played as Étienne Balsan and he was very good. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch the early life of Coco Chanel but do not have high expectations by it because I am sure that you will be disappointed.

Plods

[centen · 4/10 · 20 November 2009]

This is rather plodding and very incomplete attempt to capture the life of Coco Chanel. If you enjoy seeing her hobnob with the lesser known idle French aristocrats you may like it. I have to agree with other comments here that film makers always seem to avoid a discussion of her collaboration with the Nazis in WWII, something which caused her to leave France for nine years after the war. The closing summary of the film lauds her for her contributions to the fashion world without mentioning her shameful actions in WWII. Even recent "documentaries" about her seem to dodge the subject also. But it is well documented indeed. They should have given us a balanced, warts and all treatment. See the London Times article of April 4, 2009 "Chanel and the Nazis". This excerpt is particularly relevant: "Perhaps Chanel-lovers also have no idea that she tried to wrest control of her perfume manufacturing from a Jewish family, taking advantage of pro-Aryan laws. Or that she was arrested for war crimes - and then mysteriously released. Previously, I'd seen it mentioned that Chanel had survived the war rather comfortably at the Paris Ritz in the arms of a Nazi officer, Hans Gunther von Dincklage, and then gone into exile in Switzerland with him, but a few hours spent in the library revealed that she was far more deeply involved with the Germans than that. There was even a (somewhat ridiculous) Nazi plot, using Chanel as bait, called "Operation Modelhut"." (From Chanel & the Nazis" by Kate Muir, London Times, April 4, 2009.

What you should know before (or even after) watching "Coco"...

[rooprect · 7/10 · 11 October 2010]

This movie is so much more than a straightforward biopic or a straightforward romance. If you focus entirely on plot, you might find yourself unsatisfied.

The charm of this film lies in its themes. In particular, the duality of Coco is very compelling (whether historically accurate or not). Here is a woman who is driven by love yet unlovable due to her social status. She has a strong business sense, yet is denied a business role by a male-dominated society. She delights in fashion and wishes to interact with high society, yet she herself is a misfit. She is proud yet lives the life of a concubine. She designs fashions to exaggerate beauty yet does it with simplicity, contrary to the Victorian excesses of the times.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. This film is very much about a person who is conflicted yet manages to eke out a successful existence. It remains to be seen (and is largely up to your interpretation) whether or not it's a 'happy' life, but one way or another, it's a very realistic life, and with this in mind I found the film to be very satisfying.

Other themes are more subtle but just as compelling. The film takes us to an isolated and minimalistic world (75% of the film exists on a lone estate on the outskirts of Paris). Coco herself is given a vague childhood & dubious past. She escapes these limitations by fabricating stories about herself, a different one for each occasion (much like an outfit?). In that respect it reminded me of "Impromptu", the movie about Chopin, which is set on a lone European estate on a rainy weekend and highlights the imagination & drama that artists get themselves into when locked up for too long.

Other movies that have similar themes & presentation are "La Môme" (about singer Edith Piaf), "Man on the Moon" (about comedian Andy Kaufman) and "Frida" (about painter Frida Kahlo), all of which I recommend in addition to "Coco".