Rating: MMMM

Review of Coco Avant Chanel, biopic of  French fashion designer and style icon,
Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou and Alessandro Nivola. French with English subtitles.

Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Alessandro Nivola, Benoit Poelvoorde, Marie Gillain
Running time: 105 mins

Coco Avant Chanel as one might expect from the film’s title, tells the story of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s early life, in her younger days before the advent of her now world famous fashion house. The film charts Chanel’s origins from coquettish young cabaret dancer to professional hat maker, going on to design and make clothes to sell in her Paris store, a shop which still stands today.

Coco Avant Chanel is beautifully shot, cutting effortlessly between intimate interior scenes in the social world that Coco finds so stuffy and the fabulously lit outdoor sequences displaying rural France in all its pastoral glory. It is clear that no expense has been spared by the art department with a wealth of costumes and colour palettes that are visibly authentic and correspond well to Chanel’s signature styles. But never is the art and design of the film allowed to take over the story of Chanel’s often troubled life. And it is these peaks and troughs which make her such an interesting personality. Audrey Tautou is excellent in the title role, although never conjuring the same kind of engagement she achieved in the superb Amelie (2002) – this is perhaps due to the very nature of Chanel as a personality, a somewhat aloof and distant woman, battling with emotional demons and familial hardships. Alessandro Nivola is excellent as Chanel’s love interest, Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel, mastering both British and French accents with effortless aplomb. The supporting cast including Chanel’s rich benefactor Balsan and sister Adrienne are also very good.

Living at a time where corsets and bustles were the norm, Chanel instead rejects the conventional forms of dress, refusing to subscribe to the corseted fashions of the day and wearing dresses and blouses without the customary whalebone support. However, Chanel’s decision to do so is not entirely linked with mere creative whim – it demonstrates both her practical nature and uniqueness. Instead of riding side-saddle surrounded by copious amounts of skirt fabric like her female contemporaries, Chanel chooses to wear masculine trousers and shirts enabling her to straddle a horse like a man – thus freeing herself of the restrictions posed by women’s fashion. However, Chanel’s rebellious attire and behaviour divides the opinions of those around her – some believe her to be a shameless radical who should know better, whereas some approach her outfits with a certain reverence and admiration. One lady is so fascinated by Chanel’s wardrobe choices that she asks her to design and make her a hat, a commission which sets Coco on a journey which will eventually lead her to make her fortune in Paris, the fashion capital of the world. Where the film succeeds particularly is in the sequences demonstrating Chanel’s keen eye for detail, panning around to focus on patterns of lace, particular colours, shapes, lines and textures that strike the young designer.

Coco Avant Chanel is a pleasing and interesting study of an intriguing woman, one whose life will continue to fascinate long after the credits roll. An entertaining watch not just for fashion lovers, and a well put together piece of drama that is a credit to the biopic genre.

Rating: MMMM