2009 biopic about the early life of Coco Chanel. Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar bo...
Coco Before Chanel withdraws its fashionable fabrics for a fastidious tribute. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, arguably the most iconic French fashion designer to remove corseted silhouettes and liberate the female populous by introducing casual chic clothing, can only be surmised as a formidable talent. An intimidating yet emotionally closed businesswoman whose influence extended beyond couture fashion, dabbling in jewellery, accessories and the iconic fragrance that tantalises the senses, Chanel No. 5. However, before she established the power house of haute couture, she was a humble seamstress by day and a cabaret singer by night. Healing her internal wounds of abandonment when her father recklessly deserted her at an orphanage as a young girl. “Coco” desired the luxurious lifestyle of French high society, to obtain opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. The only method to achieve that was to become linked with a charismatic Baron, whom develops a business proposition with an Englishman, to which “Coco” reluctantly falls in love with.
Fontaine’s period biographical romance is a simple rags to riches tale, executed with an unsentimental angle that allows “Coco” to exhibit her independent nature. Her persistence to not be married and her questionable yearning to work, to fulfil her designing opportunities, grants the character an individualistic trait. An attribute that tastefully descends from her business empire. The feature reserves its female empowerment allurement til the last scene when “Coco” notoriously sits in front of a myriad of mirrors. And that’s where the missed opportunity resides.
Coco Before Chanel, having been directed and written by women, dictates Chanel’s early life as being dependent upon her male counterparts. Baron Balsan and his treatment towards her as an objectified entertainer, and Arthur Capel whom is betrothed to a women in his own country. Fontaine seemingly focuses the narrative on these two imposing figures, and how they affect Chanel’s inevitable career trajectory, consequently relinquishing her strength. The tepid romance is occasionally emotionally investable and her early life handsomely illustrated with intricate designs, yet the characters and the decisions they are forced to make are executed with such a heavy-hand. Ultimately desensitising their natural relationships. Even the obvious class segregation was established during the initial five minutes. Why choose to chronicle Chanel’s early life, when her professional career was far more intriguing with plenty of adequate drama? Her supposed bisexuality, drug habits and discretionary relationship with Salvador Dali, would’ve woven more efficient couture than her premature years. Subconsciously, and Fontaine acknowledges this as well by offering several teases of fabrics, you just want to watch Chanel expel five minutes cutting materials and sewing them together. Despite the obviously named title, you still yearn for that much needed montage, because it’s unequivocally more interesting.
Frustrating really, considering Tautou’s nuanced yet commanding eponymous performance and Nivola’s pristine French speaking solely pushing this by-the-number biopic forward. Even Desplat’s lavished score and Beaucarne’s sumptuous cinematography couldn’t distract from the eventual dullness of Coco Before Chanel. Some early lives just aren’t interesting enough to fulfil a full-length feature, and Chanel’s investable professional career eclipsed this biographical drama. The severe lack of a strong female perspective, despite the fantastic performances, undermined the talent of Coco Chanel. And that, unfortunately, is the film’s biggest crime.
