3+
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| moviereview COCO AVANT CHANEL |
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Dramatised account of the early years of French fashion deisgner, Coco Chanel. | score 3+ |
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| Cast Audrey Tatou, Marie Gillain, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Emmanuelle Devos Director Anne Fontaine Screenwriter Anne Fontaine Country France (subtitles) Rating / Running Time PG / 105 minutes Australian Release June 2009 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2009
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
It
is one of fashion’s greatest ironies that its star performer, the
embodiment of chic, was born a dirt-poor peasant in the late
1800’s. Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel lived to influence an
entire industry at a time when men ruled the world, and it is during
this time, hence the title, that Fontaine keeps her focus. There’s passing familiarity in a story that loosely mirrors that of another French icon, Edith Piaf. Both overcame an impossible upbringing and remained loveably abrasive and cantankerous despite the pleasures of international stardom. Amelie's Audrey Tatou perfectly captures that intransigence, barely breaking a smile in the film’s first half. Bearing an unsettling physical resemblance, she brings a great deal more to Coco than mere stubbornness as assorted life events are ticked off. It’s her expressive, eye-catching performance that gives the film weight and meaning. While purists may rail at a tampered chronology, Coco’s own freewheeling embellishments of time and truth make it quite excusable, necessary perhaps. And in realigning the high, lows, friends and lovers of a full life, it lends the story a greater ring of truth. Shot with candour and supported by a compelling score, Coco Avant Chanel is a sturdy memoir of one of the 20th centuries leading figures. // COLIN FRASER |