Coco Before Chanel

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Coco Before Chanel
Coco avant Chanel poster.png
French theatrical release poster
FrenchCoco avant Chanel
Directed byAnne Fontaine
Produced by
  • Simon Arnal
  • Caroline Benjo
  • Philippe Carcassonne
  • Carole Scotta
Written by
  • Anne Fontaine
  • Camille Fontaine
Based onChanel and Her World
by Edmonde Charles-Roux
Starring
Music byAlexandre Desplat
CinematographyChristophe Beaucarne
Edited byLuc Barnier
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 6 April 2009 (2009-04-06) (Paris)
  • 22 April 2009 (2009-04-22) (France and Belgium)
Running time
105 minutes
Country
  • France
  • Belgium
Language
  • French
  • English
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 premiered in Paris on 6 April 2009 and was released in France and Belgium on 22 April 2009. 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[edit]

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[edit]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

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]

Coco Before Chanel has an approval rating of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 135 reviews, and an average rating of 6.05/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though it doesn't quite capture the complexity of its subject's life, Coco Avant Chanel remains a fascinating, appropriately lovely tribute".[9] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Accolades[edit]

Date of ceremony Award Category Recipients Result
17 October 2009[11][12] World Soundtrack Awards Film Composer of the Year Alexandre Desplat Won
12 December 2009[13] European Film Awards Prix d'Excellence Catherine Leterrier (costume design) Nominated
Best Composer Alexandre Desplat Nominated
People's Choice Award for Best European Film Coco Before Chanel Nominated
21 December 2009[14] St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Coco Before Chanel Nominated
15 January 2010[15] Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Foreign Language Film Coco Before Chanel Nominated
15 February 2010[16][17] Étoiles D'or du Cinéma Français Best Film Composer Alexandre Desplat Won
20 February 2010[18] Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing in a Feature Foreign Language Film Jean-Claude Laureux
Franck Desmoulins
Anne Gibourg
Sylvain Malbrant
Claire-Anne Largeron
Pascal Chauvin		 Nominated
21 February 2010[19] British Academy Film Awards Best Film Not in the English Language Coco Before Chanel Nominated
Best Actress in a Leading Role Audrey Tautou Nominated
Best Costume Design Catherine Leterrier Nominated
Best Makeup and Hair Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen
Madeleine Cofano
Jane Milon		 Nominated
25 February 2010[20] Costume Designers Guild Awards Excellence in Period Film Catherine Leterrier Nominated
27 February 2010[21] César Awards Best Actress Audrey Tautou Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Benoit Poelvoorde Nominated
Best Writing – Adaptation Anne Fontaine
Camille Fontaine		 Nominated
Best Photo Christophe Beaucarne Nominated
Best Costumes Catherine Leterrier Won
Best Set Design Olivier Radot Nominated
7 March 2010[22] Academy Awards Best Costume Design Catherine Leterrier Nominated
5 February 2011[23] Magritte Awards Best Supporting Actor Benoît Poelvoorde Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) (2009)". JPBox-Office.
  2. ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ "Coco Before Chanel (2009)". The Numbers. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Coco Before Chanel". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  5. ^ Jaafar, Ali (17 April 2009). "Hollywood biz without borders". Variety.
  6. ^ Tobias, Scott (19 November 2004). "Foreign affairs". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  7. ^ Roger Ebert (2009). "Coco Before Chanel". Chicago Sun Times.
  8. ^ French, Philip (2 August 2009). "Coco Before Chanel". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Coco Before Chanel (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  11. ^ "World Soundtrack Awards: Awards for 2009". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Awards - Film Composer of the Year: Awards archive - Film Composer of the Year: 2009". nationalboardofreview.org. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  13. ^ "European Film Awards 2009". europeanfilmawards.eu. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  14. ^ "St. Louis Film Critics: 2009 - St. Louis Film Critics' Awards". stlfilmcritics.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  15. ^ "15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (2010) – Best Picture: The Hurt Locker: Best Foreign Language Film". Critics' Choice Movie Awards. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Etoiles d'Or de la Presse du Cinéma Français 2010 (édition n°11)" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Étoiles d'Or: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  19. ^ "BAFTA Awards Search: 2010". bafta.org. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  20. ^ "Costume Designers Guild Awards: Awards for 2010". IMDb. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  21. ^ "Palmares 2010 - 35th Cesar Award Ceremony". academie-cinema.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  22. ^ "Oscars Ceremonies: The 82nd Academy Awards - 2010: Winners & Nominees - Costume Design". Oscars. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  23. ^ "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[edit]

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