Coco Avant Chanel (2009)

Coco Avant Chanel is a French-language film about the life of world-famous fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel before she was so famous. The story begins with her father dropping her and her sister off at an orphanage. From there it moves to her time working as a seamstress & entertainer to her living with millionaire Etienne Balsan and her hobby of wearing repossessed menswear and hat-making - the last bit being what helped push her into fashion.

Coco is played with great vigor by Audrey Tautou. As she scowls and trudges through Balsan's estate, you can see the beginnings of a designer who'll settle for nothing less than her own carefully constructed style. And when she finally smiles, it lights up her whole being and you see a woman who is truly passionate. While Tautou was lovable as Amelie, here she's admirable both as Chanel and as an actress who has clearly thought about the complexities of her character.

As good as she is, Tautou doesn't do it all on her own. She's given an interesting story to work with thanks to Coco herself as well as writers Anne and Camille Fontaine, who based their script (loosely I hear) on the book L'irregulaire by Edmonde Charles-Roux. Anne Fontaine directs as well, leading the rest of the cast into complimentary position around Tautou's Chanel and making everything float naturally into sequence. Meanwhile Catherine Leterrier's costumes provide the stage for Chanel's pieces to shine through the more complicated period costumes with simple beauty.

Instead of a common biography - how a woman turned into a fashion empire,we get the story of a woman who was who she was, worked hard and eventually the masses appreciated her work. And that leaves more hope for the rest of us.

Rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Those who realize the title is Coco Before Chanel