“She makes even grief seem chic,” says an acquaintance of Coco Chanel, the 1920's embodiment of all that was stylish, fashionable and oh so terribly French. Yet despite her loss, or perhaps because of it, Chanel reveals a steely reserve suggesting a woman now accustomed to having things her own way. This includes having Igor Stravinsky as her live in lover. No matter that the celebrated composer is married, bring the family as well (to the surprise of all concerned). No matter the likely complications, these are matters for small minds, not creative genius like Coco and Igor.
Jan Kounen's assured direction is a confident adaptation of Chris Greenhalgh's book of the same name. It opens a window on to the passionate affair between designer and musician, and the equally passionate if unintended three-way relationship that ensued. Igor's wife may have been happy that her husband's career had found new spark, less so the manner in which it was forged. Anna Mouglalis hits a subtle note that captures Chanel's mixed desires, while Mikkelsen is striking as the powerfully consumed Stravinsky. Sumptuous design befitting the pair rounds off impeccable production.
If Kounen looses his way in the closing scenes (an inexplicable flash forward with questionable aging make up is nothing if not distracting, suggesting screenwriter Greenhalgh sat a little too close to his own material), Coco & Igor is otherwise a sensual couple of hours spent in the company of two of the 20th centuries most enduring figures.
// COLIN FRASER
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks
Based on the novel/screenplay, Coco and Igor, by Chris Greenhalgh, Jan Kounen brings to the screen a ‘complete’ story of the love affair between the fabulous Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis) and Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen). It is a story of facts mixed with imagination that pays homage to a period in history when France was simply THE place to be.
The film opens in Paris in 1913 with an historically accurate re-creation of the premiere of The Rite of Spring at the Champs- Elysees Theatre. The work is revolutionary and modern. The audience boos, jeers and hisses at the performance which is considered scandalous and upsets the haute bourgeois.
Sitting in the dark, mesmerized by the scene, is Coco Chanel. She eventually meets Igor Stravinsky. It is obvious there is a mutual attraction between them and she becomes obsessed. Seven years later she invites the penniless Igor and his family to live at her villa, Bel Respiro. The villa has been faithfully restored and the set becomes the central location for the two artists’ passion.
And, passionate it is. Igor is torn between the love and support of his ailing wife Catherine (Elena Morozova) and the now independent and successful Coco Chanel. At one point Catherine confronts Coco admitting that her affair with her husband has created more passion in his work. The passion is carried through in the lovers’ relationship and in a moment of frustration Igor refers to Coco as, ‘a shopkeeper, not an artist’. The relationship also parallels two of the artists’ greatest achievements, in Stravinsky’s successful revision of The Rite of Spring and Chanel’s creation of her signature perfume, Chanel No. 5.
The costumes and sets are truly magnificent. The production had access to Coco’s original villa in Garches and Karl Lagerfeld created the costumes she wore in the opening scenes at the theatre. CHANEL also made their archives and collections available. This makes for a jaw-dropping black and white visual experience as each scene deserves an award for design. It is particularly evident in a scene when Catherine asks Coco why she doesn’t like colour and Mademoiselle Chanel replies, ‘only if it is black’. After all, she was once referred to as being the only person alive who could make grief seem chic, and, how chic this film is.
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks coco and igor coc & igor
// SALT
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks