Review of Coco Before Chanel (2009) by Tania Z — 01 Nov 2010

For a number of years I bought my mother a bottle of Chanel number 5 every Christmas. As I rarely saw her other than at Christmas she was able to conceal a simple truth from me. She really didnâ(TM)t like it.

Ah well, I canâ(TM)t blame poor Coco for that. Nor do I blame the film-makers for not dwelling on her â~collaborationâ(TM) (Coco Chanelâ(TM)s, not my motherâ(TM)s) during the German occupation. I really canâ(TM)t stand this sort of thing â" itâ(TM)s like saying â~I saw a film about Winston Churchill and it didnâ(TM)t mention that he used troops against South Wales minersâ(TM) (I would have thought much more reprehensible).

I like this a great deal better than the other recent French biopic La Vie En Rose which frankly just pissed me off. Itâ(TM)s not that Chanel is a more likeable person than Piaf (it would be difficult not to be), itâ(TM)s just that her early life is marginally more interesting (probably because she was intelligent while Piaf was, er, thick).

But for me this movie is made by Benoit Poelvoordeâ(TM)s totally convincing and quite touching portrayal of the gentlemanly jealousy of Cocoâ(TM)s mentor Etienne Balsan as she throws herself at the somewhat shallow English playboy â~Boyâ(TM) Capel.

Thereâ(TM)s not much really to say about Audrey Tautouâ(TM)s as Chanel except to admit that she doesnâ(TM)t make much of a fist of an admittedly sketchily drawn character. Perhaps there just isnâ(TM)t much to say anyway.

Sometimes itâ(TM)s just like that.