Coco avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel) Review

“Coco before Chanel is an odd film that could do with...”

Written on: 08/10/2010 by reviewkitten (280 reviews written)

Coco before Chanel is an odd film that could do with some better editing and a sharper script. A very long opening scene depicting the young "Coco" being left at an orphanage seems slightly devoid of any real emotion and leads onto 14 years later where we find her working in a French bar as a singer and dancer. It all feels a little disjointed until the third half of the film where the relationship with Balson brings out the unique personality of Coco as her stark differences are set against the social set in Paris. A love interest is added but straight from the off you know it is set to be heart wrenching.



The hurried way the film ends ignores a huge chunk of Coco Chanel's gradual career success, we never find out how she is really finally accepted into Paris's fashion houses or how she managed to create one of the most enduring brands of all time. I would have expected to have seen more of the battles she faced as a single women in a mans world, kind of a Coco Chanel version of Elizabeth. Unfortunately this film feels flimsy and unfinished like a hat without feathers...