Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel | |
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French | Coco avant Chanel |
Directed by | Anne Fontaine |
Written by |
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Based on | Chanel and Her World by Edmonde Charles-Roux |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Christophe Beaucarne |
Edited by | Luc Barnier |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Countries |
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Languages |
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Budget | $22.2 million[1] |
Box office | $50.8 million[2] |
Coco Before Chanel (French: Coco avant Chanel) is a 2009 biographical drama film directed and co-written by Anne Fontaine. The film stars Audrey Tautou and details the early life of French fashion designer Coco Chanel.
The film was first released on 22 April 2009 in France. As of 21 December that year, it had grossed $43,832,376 worldwide.[3] The production budget was $23 million.[4]
Instead of releasing Coco Before Chanel in the United States itself, Warner Bros. Pictures let Sony Pictures Classics handle the release there.[5] The film grossed $6 million in the United States.[4][6]
Coco Before Chanel was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three European Film Awards, six César Awards and the Oscar for Best Costume Design.
Plot
Several years after leaving the orphanage in Aubazine where her father abandoned her, a young Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She works as a seamstress for the performers by day and a cabaret singer by night, earning the nickname "Coco" from the song she sings with her sister Adrienne. A liaison with the charismatic Baron Balsan gives her an entry into French high society, and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats.
Coco falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel, unaware that he is betrothed to a woman in England. Capel believes in Coco's talent making hats and her refusal to follow the whims of fashion; as he says to Coco, "There's no one else like you". As Coco's business flourishes and life is going well, Capel dies in a car accident; she is devastated. However, Coco still has the business that Capel helped her to start as a reminder of their love.
Cast
- Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel
- Benoît Poelvoorde as Étienne Balsan
- Alessandro Nivola as Arthur Capel
- Marie Gillain as Adrienne Chanel
- Emmanuelle Devos as Émilienne d'Alençon
- Émilie Gavois-Kahn as The alternate seamstress
Response
Roger Ebert praised the film for its unsentimental approach to Chanel's early years.[7] English critic Philip French found the film handsomely designed, tasteful, and reserved, but rather dull.[8] One hundred twenty-six critics on website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an average rating of 63%.[9] The film's average on Metacritic from reviewers was 65% as of 6 December 2012[update], with a 69% rating from general users of the website, the consensus reads, "Though it doesn't quite capture the complexity of its subject's life, Coco Avant Chanel remains a fascinating, appropriately lovely tribute".
Accolades
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ "Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) (2009)". JPBox-Office.
- ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Coco Before Chanel (2009)". The Numbers. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ a b "Coco Before Chanel". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Jaafar, Ali (17 April 2009). "Hollywood biz without borders". Variety.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (19 November 2004). "Foreign affairs". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Chicago Sun Times.
- ^ French, Philip (2 August 2009). "Coco Before Chanel". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "Coco Before Chanel (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "World Soundtrack Awards: Awards for 2009". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Awards - Film Composer of the Year: Awards archive - Film Composer of the Year: 2009". nationalboardofreview.org. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "European Film Awards 2009". europeanfilmawards.eu. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "St. Louis Film Critics: 2009 - St. Louis Film Critics' Awards". stlfilmcritics.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (2010) – Best Picture: The Hurt Locker: Best Foreign Language Film". Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Etoiles d'Or de la Presse du Cinéma Français 2010 (édition n°11)" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Étoiles d'Or: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards Search: 2010". bafta.org. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Costume Designers Guild Awards: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Palmares 2010 - 35th Cesar Award Ceremony". academie-cinema.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Oscars Ceremonies: The 82nd Academy Awards - 2010: Winners & Nominees - Costume Design". Oscars. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Les Magritte du Cinema – Archives: 2011 - Les Nominés" (in French). Les Magritte du Cinema. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Coco Before Chanel at IMDb
- Coco Before Chanel at AllMovie
- 2009 films
- 2009 drama films
- 2009 in fashion
- 2000s biographical drama films
- 2000s historical drama films
- Belgian biographical drama films
- Belgian films
- Belgian historical drama films
- Cultural depictions of Coco Chanel
- Films about fashion designers
- Films based on biographies
- Films directed by Anne Fontaine
- Films scored by Alexandre Desplat
- Films set in the 1910s
- Films set in the 1920s
- Films set in the 1930s
- Films set in the 1940s
- Films set in the 1950s
- Films set in the 1960s
- Films shot in Paris
- French biographical drama films
- French films
- French historical drama films
- French-language films