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      Coco Before Chanel

      2009, Biography/Drama, 1h 45m

      134 Reviews 25,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      Though it doesn't quite capture the complexity of its subject's life, Coco Avant Chanel remains a fascinating, appropriately lovely tribute. Read critic reviews

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      Coco Before Chanel  Photos

      Movie Info

      Young Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou) works as a seamstress by day and a cabaret entertainer by night, then she meets a wealthy heir (Benoît Poelvoorde) and becomes his lover and fashion consultant. Tired of the flowery hats, tight corsets and yards of lace that define women's fashion, Coco uses her lover's clothing as a starting point to distill an elegant and sophisticated line of women's clothing that propels her to the top of Parisian haute couture.

      • Rating: PG-13 (Smoking|Sexual Content)

      • Genre: Biography, Drama

      • Original Language: French (France)

      • Director: Anne Fontaine

      • Producer: Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Carole Scotta, Simon Arnal

      • Writer: Anne Fontaine, Camille Fontaine, Anne Fontaine, Camille Fontaine

      • Release Date (Theaters):  wide

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $6.1M

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

      • Production Co: France 2 (FR2), Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique, France 2 Cinéma, Films Distribution, Banque Populaire Images 9, SCOPE Invest, Warner Bros., Soficapital, Cofinova 5, Haut et Court, Canal+, Ciné, Scope Pictures, CinéCinéma

      Cast & Crew

      Audrey Tautou
      Benoît Poelvoorde
      Alessandro Nivola
      Marie Gillain
      Emmanuelle Devos
      Etienne Bartholomeus
      Yan Duffas
      Fabien Béhar
      Jean-Yves Chatelais
      Pierre Diot
      Vincent Nemeth
      Bruno Abraham-Kremer
      Marie-Bénédicte Roy
      Emilie Gavois-Kahn
      Anne Fontaine
      Alexandre Desplat
      Luc Barnier
      Olivier Radot

      News & Interviews for Coco Before Chanel

      Critic Reviews for Coco Before Chanel

      Audience Reviews for Coco Before Chanel

      • Jul 24, 2014

        Coco Before Chanel, literally is about Coco before she started her own Chanel line. I like the acting, very natural and fitting, exactly what I would expect real life Chanel to behave. I like the individualist messages, you gotta work hard to achieve your dreams and don't let the others stop you. I like the idea of Chanel meeting the man who appreciate her unique ideas, like attract likes was well reinforced there. However, the plot seem fragmented and could use some polishing. The costumes were beautiful and the set was beautifully designed.

        Super Reviewer
      • Oct 14, 2011

        Another biopic of the fashion template Coco Chanel, this French language film romanticizes the life of a woman who favored simplicity in her style, leading to a feminization of rebellion in the fashion world, and in women's every day life.Still, though Chanel was a prominent figure, she is misrepresented time and time again as a romantic, a career woman, and a realist, when in reality she prostituted herself, and worked as a Nazi sympathizer and traitor towards the French. This inaccuracy, though blaring, didn't annoy me as much as the way this film is plotted, focusing on Chanel's early life, before fame came to her. Chanel is never seen past the thirties, transfixed into an immortal portrait of a rags to riches story. Chanel's life broadened so much more in the coming years, and it would have been nice to watch Tatou, such a resilient figure in French cinema, overcome the issues of Chanel's youth and rise to the occasion as a sort of matriarch to the female French population. We see a fragment of this at the end, but never the true extent of her success, the transformation she goes through to be a powerhouse, no longer the fragile little orphan of her prior youth. Tatou, such a great beauty and gamine presence, is so amazingly strong and independent minded in her take on the giant, but I wish there wasn't so much emphasis on Boy Capel throughout, and more on her actual life. This all felt like an ill fated love affair, when Chanel actually had many lovers in her lifetime, including Igor Stravinsky. It was beautifully shot and acted, I just believe the execution had something to be desired.

        Super Reviewer
      • Jun 22, 2011

        I have as much interest in fashion as I do the standings of the Czech junior hockey league, but since Audrey Tautou is the star of this show I had to watch. She performs ably as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel during her lean times as a seamstress and freelance hat designer, wiping any trace of Audrey or Amelie from perception. I was interested in watching how she managed to break free of the male-dominated French pre-WW I society where the best and seemingly only chance a woman had for advancement was to marry rich, she certainly was a pioneer for women in business. Sad to say I cannot recommend the film to the casual viewer though, outside of watching Audrey I grew quite bored as there were few momentous events in Coco's life shown here, and while I might now be able to recognize Chanel couture, we only catch glimpses of what inspired the woman with "a strong sense of distaste." Apparently there's nothing like a car crash that claims the life of a loved one to channel creativity resulting in 30 new dress designs, which I consider rather a high price to pay.

        Super Reviewer
      • Jan 03, 2011

        Pretty good...entertaining enough for me to finish the movie, but it was nothing special (to me).

        Super Reviewer

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