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Movie Review; Coco Before Chanel, Overall Good - 3.5 out of 5 beams. A well mounted biography of iconic fashion queen Coco Chanel, this handsome movie reveals in simple fashion her humble origins and early successes. Hmm. Simple and revealing brings to mind, why yes, the Chanel design aesthetic. The movie suits its subject.

Coco Before Chanel - "Biopic Suits Its Extraordinary Subject"

Chanel fans looking to revel in her professional triumphs will come away largely disappointed however. Other than a brief coda of a late period fashion show, the movie ends at the beginning of her career. In focusing on her early rise, it conveys how revolutionary her design aesthetic was, and how her ideas for the Little Black Dress and suits on women emerged.

It also shows the importance of the millionaires she took as her first two lovers, since even a woman of Coco Chanel’s brilliance and drive couldn’t succeed on her own in early 20th century France.


Audrey Tautou easily inhabits the mercurial Coco Chanel, playing her as largely dour yet capable of flashes of joy. Ironically and in a testament to her acting skill, Tautou shot to international stardom playing a character (Amélie) just the opposite of this.

Woman’s fashions are hardly my bailiwick, but I found myself intrigued by Chanel’s manifold and enduring design achievements: the Chanel suit, the Little Black Dress, the modern turn away from frivolous adornment. As Wikipedia reports, “Her extraordinary influence on fashion was such that she was the only person in the field to be named on TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century.”

(Photo/ Image Credit: WENN)

Full Review at WikPik.