David AllsoppCoco avant Chanel (2009)
April 14th 2010 15:11
It's been a little slow going for French actress Audrey Tautou over the past couple of years, with the big brown eyed beauty taking time in selecting her roles. In a choice here that undoubtedly inspired the ostensibly feisty brunette, Ms Tautou has teamed up French writer/director Anne Fontaine to produce Coco Avant Chanel, a French period biopic drama covering one of France's most famous and controversial fashion designers.
Gabrielle Bonheur lived from the late 19th to well into the 20th century. 'Coco', as she became known (through her early showgirl performances), was a figure not without controversy, noted in her cutting edge designs (which were initially hard to digest) and later in her liaisons with Nazi officials.
The film, however, focuses on Coco's early life, before she formulated the august fashion brand 'chanel' for which she became famous. Beginning with her dysfunctional childhood, Coco manages to progress from boarding school, to making some measly pennies through early performances with her sister as a showgirl. When her sister becomes engaged in her own affairs, Coco, directionless, clings to playboy aristocrat Etienne Balsan. It is here, through a series of parties, affairs, hat sewing and horse riding, that she begins to define herself, formulating the woman she is destined to become.
Shot largely on the north coast of France, the film's scenery is splendid, helping the lavish parties and sewing expeditions seem all the more galant. The camera work also does the setting justice, as both the time period and wealth and grandeur of life appear both convincing and pleasing to the eye.
Coco Avant Chanel also reveals some solid acting, with the star, Audrey Tautou, putting in a credible performance. Ms Tautou has said how she likes to play strong-minded characters, confessing, "maybe because I'm like that". This is evident here, as her self reliant display of Coco throughout the film appears convincing. Likewise Benoit Poelvoorde, who plays her wealthy and bibulous playboy lover, comes across as damn good fun, with his friendship with Coco appearing genuine in between bouts of eccentric behaviour. The performances of Arthur 'boy' Capel, her more passionate affair, and her sister, Adrienne Chanel, were nothing spectacular, but then took nothing away from the film's believability either.
Gripes with the film would be with its pace or the fact that it focused on Coco's early life, leaving out a significant slab of the tumultuous behaviour that occupied such a part of her later years. The film's perspective, however, should give fans of Coco and her fashion brand Chanel a fairly detailed look into the formulation of events. The shifts thorough these early periods in her life were, to the film's credit, done smoothly, even though it had to pack it in, running at a mere 105 minutes.
What didn't launch this film into the outstanding category though, was its subject matter (and possibly its earlier perspective). Without any intention of belittling this fashion era, was Coco's life before chanel really that spectacular? Is a story about a staunchly independent woman who engages in affairs and makes a few hats really that riveting? I personally would have preferred to delve more into the sardonic naughtiness of Coco, exploring her Nazi love affairs and irascible behaviour for which she became well known later on. This aside, with Audrey and the scenery going for it, Coco Avant Chanel is still certainly worth 105 minutes of your time.
A solid film.
Three and a half bananas out of five.
The film, however, focuses on Coco's early life, before she formulated the august fashion brand 'chanel' for which she became famous. Beginning with her dysfunctional childhood, Coco manages to progress from boarding school, to making some measly pennies through early performances with her sister as a showgirl. When her sister becomes engaged in her own affairs, Coco, directionless, clings to playboy aristocrat Etienne Balsan. It is here, through a series of parties, affairs, hat sewing and horse riding, that she begins to define herself, formulating the woman she is destined to become.
Coco Avant Chanel also reveals some solid acting, with the star, Audrey Tautou, putting in a credible performance. Ms Tautou has said how she likes to play strong-minded characters, confessing, "maybe because I'm like that". This is evident here, as her self reliant display of Coco throughout the film appears convincing. Likewise Benoit Poelvoorde, who plays her wealthy and bibulous playboy lover, comes across as damn good fun, with his friendship with Coco appearing genuine in between bouts of eccentric behaviour. The performances of Arthur 'boy' Capel, her more passionate affair, and her sister, Adrienne Chanel, were nothing spectacular, but then took nothing away from the film's believability either.
Gripes with the film would be with its pace or the fact that it focused on Coco's early life, leaving out a significant slab of the tumultuous behaviour that occupied such a part of her later years. The film's perspective, however, should give fans of Coco and her fashion brand Chanel a fairly detailed look into the formulation of events. The shifts thorough these early periods in her life were, to the film's credit, done smoothly, even though it had to pack it in, running at a mere 105 minutes.
What didn't launch this film into the outstanding category though, was its subject matter (and possibly its earlier perspective). Without any intention of belittling this fashion era, was Coco's life before chanel really that spectacular? Is a story about a staunchly independent woman who engages in affairs and makes a few hats really that riveting? I personally would have preferred to delve more into the sardonic naughtiness of Coco, exploring her Nazi love affairs and irascible behaviour for which she became well known later on. This aside, with Audrey and the scenery going for it, Coco Avant Chanel is still certainly worth 105 minutes of your time.
A solid film.
Three and a half bananas out of five.
| 103 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
