February 16, 2010: Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel)
Coco avant Chanel brings us a look at the life of the famed designer before fame, fortune and recognition came her way. As I presume is typically the case with such passionate and successful people, their particular passion is evident from a young age, and a strong personality causes a fair bit of tension and trouble but ultimately results in the big break which leads to their success.
I didn’t know much about her life, except that she was a designer/fashionista through the middle part of the 20th century. Here she is portrayed as having a keen interest in fashion from a young age, but not even considering the possibility that this could lead to a career. Growing up in France and scraping out a living with her sister on nightclub stages in 1920s Paris, she ran away from wealth and privilege more or less because she felt abandoned by her family in that world. She eventually meets up with a rich guy and thinks he’ll marry her, but status and class are still very important factors in marriage at the time and he never intends to let her get any closer than a mistress on the side. She does go to live with him, taking the hit to her pride, and meets a nice young man who eventually turns out to have the exact same reservations about being with her. Coco stands her ground, and in fact ends up never marrying.
Coco avant Chanel wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I can’t say that I was fully engaged with this film. It is nominated for an Oscar for costume design, which makes perfect sense since it’s about a clothing designer, and I can only assume that the costumes are competently made. Audrey Tautou brings her usual sparkling energy to the title role. But this was pretty much a throwaway experience for me.
The Oscar push wears me out.
Post a Comment