Coco Before Chanel: Fashion? Design? Clothes? Not so much.

Imagine a film about Albert Einstein that doesn't mention physics, and you pretty much have "Coco Before Chanel," a film about Coco Chanel that barely mentions that oh yeah, she was a designer.

The first woman designer to break into the male-dominated Paris fashion houses, who went on to build an empire in her name, a name that became synonymous with style and elegance right up until today.

But of course, all that pales into meaninglessness in the face of the fact that she fell in love with some guy once.

I understood this film was about her life before she was famous. I simply assumed it would be about the development of her personal sense of style and also, that we'd get some sense of what made her tick. I got none of that. I found her motivations in most of this film incomprehensible, and while Audrey Tautou is beautiful and compelling and charismatic as Chanel, I simply had no freaking clue what I was supposed to think about her character.

And I don't mean that in a mysterious and intriguing sense. I mean it in the "Huh?" sense.

Big disappointment to me.

Comments

[Cheryl]

I don't know if you can find it anywhere. but back in the 80's there was a movie about her - 'Chanel Solitaire'. Much more comprehensive and covered it all. Looks like Lifetime remade it in 2008. Probably 'improved it" :-( Then again the 80's were awhile ago and my memory of the movie could be rosy.

[Christie]

Hmmm, interesting, though... sounds like that one might have suffered from the same problem!

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9801E0D61138F935A25753C1A967948260

Still, I'm going to see if I can find it on DVD... Netflix doesn't have it!

[Dorene]

Bleah! What is the point in watching the movie if we aren't going to see why/how she became a designer. The Lifetime special (with Shirley McClaine as the elder Chanel) at least made a stab at it, used Chanel's designs throughout and gave one perspective (glossing over WWII colloberation, but for all the great shots of the clothes, I could forgive them for that).

I'd get the Lifetime movie and ditch this one.