Sunday, October 25, 2009
A+E, Movies, Reviews

You won’t go cuckoo for ‘Coco’

 

The mediocre Lifetime movie “Coco Chanel” at least used Shirley MacLaine to pique viewer interest in flashbacks that showed how she evolved from a young French orphan into one of the 20th century’s most influential fashion designers.

“Coco Before Chanel” presumes you know enough about Chanel to sit through nearly two hours about her younger years, told in mundane fashion. Audrey Tautou almost makes it work, but the goodwill she generated with “Amélie” is wearing thin.

Raised in a Catholic orphanage, sisters Gabrielle (Tautou) and Adrienne (Marie Gillian) sew by day and sing in a cabaret at night, flirting with male patrons who might do them some good. Gabrielle intrigues a wealthy officer, Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde), with her unconventional attitude. She’s bold, borderline rude, moody, boyish, willful and ultimately ungrateful. How could any man resist?

After Balsan retreats to his chateau near Paris, Gabrielle, whom he calls “Coco,” moves in with him. At first he hides her from his wealthy friends; then he uses her to entertain them. She also starts making hats for actress Emilienne d'Alençon (Emmanuelle Devos).

Another of Balsan’s friends, Arthur “Boy” Capel (Alessandro Nivola), becomes a serious romantic interest for Coco, and helps her open a shop in Paris. Along the way her tastes in fashion are illustrated by her reactions to what other women wear. She advocates simplicity and detests the ornate. A final fashion show montage probably spans Chanel’s entire career.

Except for who she’s going to become, this story of a young woman who’s ahead of her time, and how she uses and is used by men, has been told countless times in dozens of languages. You won’t go cuckoo for “Coco.” 2.5 STARS—Steve Warren