Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel | |
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![]() French theatrical release poster | |
French | Coco avant Chanel |
Directed by | Anne Fontaine |
Produced by |
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Written by |
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Based on | Chanel and Her World by Edmonde Charles-Roux |
Starring | |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
Cinematography | Christophe Beaucarne |
Edited by | Luc Barnier |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country |
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Language |
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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 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]
- 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
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]
References[edit]
- ^ "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.
- ^ Roger Ebert (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 2020.
- ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ "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[edit]
- Official website (in French)
- Coco Before Chanel on IMDb
- Coco Before Chanel at AllMovie
- 2009 films
- 2009 drama films
- 2009 in fashion
- 2009 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