Coco Before Chanel (2009)

Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou) was abandoned by her father to an orphanage in 1893 after her mother's death. Fifteen years later, she's performing with Adrienne at a moulin cafe gaining the nickname Coco. In her day job, she's a seamstress. Her ambition to perform is stymied and she becomes the mistress of wealthy customer Étienne Balsan. She grows frustrated as his kept woman and falls for his friend Boy Capel. The fashion of the day are corsets, big dresses, and bigger hats. Chanel never fits that style but has her own sophisticated modernity.The movie looks beautiful. The designs are well made. Tautou's performance is restrained. They need to explain her childhood and early life more completely. It's hard to find the feelings early on. Chanel and Capel seems to have an one-note love-at-first-sight romance. The drama is lacking. The movie mostly falls flat except when fashion gets a mention. Her fashion business journey would probably be better material for a movie. This is lackluster drama.

Coco Chanel had an amazing, fascinating life, though I don't think one would know it from "Coco Before Chanel," released in 2009.This is the story of Chanel (Audrey Tatou) from her shabby beginnings as an orphan to the beginning of her great success as a couturier. It is through men who take an interest in her that Coco succeeds - first, Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde), and the love of her life, Boy Capel (Alessandro Nivola). Capel is the man who first established her salon in Paris, and she was so successful, she was able to repay him all of the money he invested. He also may be in part responsible for the look of the "Chanel No. 5" bottle.The production is dazzling -- costumes, scenery, and Tatou is good as Chanel, a young woman who takes a dim view of love before even falling in love. Once she does, she wants it all - marriage, settling down, but it is not to be. Alessandro Nivola is stunning.Unfortunately, Mr. Nivola's handsomeness and the lovely Ms. Tatou can't make up for the dreadfully slow pace and dull story. The beginning, with Gabrielle (Coco) and her sister as a singing duo was really the best, and then it kind of fizzles out after she becomes involved with Balsan.I haven't seen every single thing ever made about Chanel, but I know that there were aspects of her life, such as her Nazi leanings, friendships within the British government, her dealings over Chanel No. 5 with the Wertheimers - that are very compelling. I'm not sure how they would play out on screen, but she was an important figure in the 20th Century, and as such, deserves to have her entire story told. The TV movie with Shirley MacLaine told the story of the late part of her life, whitewashing what went on before, and this tells the beginning. Let's see something of her activities in the '30s and '40s on the big screen.

There's not a lot of action or dramatic tension in this movie, but there is a story to tell, though subtle, and it is intelligent and utterly convincing of time and place. It is very good.The direction, the cinematography, the score, the acting are all excellent. But the star of the movie is Audrey Tatou, as a woman born with a sense of self and style, almost against her will, who uses those traits to climb through fin-de-siecle French society to, ultimately, become an icon of what most would consider the beginning of modern times. She shifts effortlessly from the angry, self-absorbed youth with an attitude, to a mature women liberated by her lover, through heartbreak to triumph. As another reviewer has noted, the last 15 minutes or so are a master class in emotional range. Never a false note. She's so good that it's easy to forget that she's acting. In the final scene, the cinematography, the score, and Ms. Tatou combine into an unforgettable moment. She is convincing and compelling.

Audrey Tatou not just have a good acting skills but also a great voice (if it was really her singing in this movie). In this movie, you'll see the life of women in this period and the very luxurious life of the rich people. Truly are the French have the most luxurious parties and outfits before. I'm so glad to have found this movie as I'm a big fan of movies like The Duchess, Marie Antoinette, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen and the like. I wonder what will happen to us if Coco Chanel didn't invent those dresses before...I can't stand the itch and the tightness of the dress maybe...Anyway, I'll be looking forward to Coco and Igor Stravinsky movie soon. I hope it won't let me down.