Movie review: Coco before Chanel

3 stars

 

“Coco Before Chanel,” an almost two-hour-long biopic of France’s most beloved fashion pioneer, relies more on atmosphere than action, which is both a flaw and a merit.

The movie shows Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel swimming against the current of time, place and circumstance. She is a single woman without a steady income, torn between French playboy Etienne Balsan, whose mistress she becomes at the start of the film, and Boy Capel, an English businessmen who tends more to her emotional needs — quite the reversal of national stereotypes.

Besides these personal inquiries, Coco’s skills as a seamstress already foreshadow her later ventures into the world of style.

In this, she’s reminiscent of today’s Anna Wintour; she harshly judges the fashion of the time as excessive. This valuation of simplicity would remain central to her work.

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And that’s about it for plot. The movie is a slow, detailed investigation of Coco before the start of her empire. Those hoping to see an already established woman enjoying the success of her Chanel No.5 with lavish parties and fashion humor a la “The Devil Wears Prada” will be disappointed.

But there are plenty of other things to see here. Director Anne Fontaine doesn’t resort to moralizing messages or an anachronistic approach to Chanel’s career. The movie shows it as it is, depravation and beauty alike.

Audrey Tautou is not the innocent, delightful young woman of “Amélie” here, but rather a subversive, chain-smoking woman who occasionally dresses up in men’s clothes despite the disapproving reactions of her lover. Coco’s sense of style reflects her independence, and her stress on more liberty and opportunity for women in the flapper-dominated 1920s.

Tautou convincingly sheds her past role as sweet, sugary Amélie, adopting Chanel’s no-nonsense demeanor. And it is fitting that France’s beloved actress should portray Coco, and not Keira Knightley, who was previously approached for the role. Benoît Poelvoorde succeeds as Etienne, combining chivalric attitude with the class notions of the time, but his charm makes the character overall sympathetic.

Thus the reception of the movie depends entirely on the audience. If you’re the type of moviegoer that needs a lot of action to stay awake, this isn’t for you.

But “Coco Before Chanel” should find a niche with an audience that appreciates a slowly but carefully built-up atmosphere perfectly reflective of the time period, and that is willing to make a bit of an effort in following this costume drama.