Before becoming perhaps the most revered designer of the 20th century, Coco Chanel was an ambitious and hot-headed girl, struggling to support herself and achieve personal and financial independence. Anne Fontaine’s “Coco Before Chanel” chronicles the designer’s life, spanning her early years growing up in a Catholic orphanage in France, to working as a seamstress by day and cabaret singer by night, to positioning herself as mistress to a wealthy Frenchman. Fontaine smartly glosses over Chanel’s youth, instead choosing to linger on her adult years shortly before she revolutionized the fashion industry.
Audrey Tautou portrays the perfectly cast leading lady, bringing her unique beauty and captivating presence to the role of Chanel. The designer’s everyday fashion was inspired by the austere black and white garbs of the Catholic nuns running the orphanage. As a result, she donned plain, loose-fitting clothing that starkly contrasted with the Parisian fashion of the early 1900s, which favored adornments such as plumes, flowers and lace.
Chanel’s disdain for restrictive corsets is matched only by her desire to do something more than perform at an “exclusive” cabaret alongside her sister, Adrienne (Marie Gillain). Her fiery temper comes in handy when fending off the uninvited advances of the cabaret’s male patrons, who mistake her for a prostitute more often than not.
One patron who cannot be deterred is the boorish playboy, Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde), who christens Gabrielle “Coco” after the subject of the song she performs each night. The two exchange flirtatious banter, each baiting the other with bluntness and cynicism. It is immensely entertaining to witness the verbal tennis match between Poelvoorde and Tautou, especially because each inhabits their role to such an extent that there is no doubt that they are these characters.
Naturally, an affair ensues between Coco and Balsan, and when Adrienne leaves her sister to pursue her own paramour, Coco turns to Balsan for a place to stay. Upon arriving at what Coco refers to as Balsan’s castle, she is hidden away from his unending stream of guests and forced to eat in the kitchen with the servants and remain secluded in her room until her lover stops by for a drunken rendezvous. Refusing to be isolated any longer, Coco takes matters into her own capable hands, extending her stay by inserting herself into Balsan’s high society life.
As a true lady of leisure, Coco takes full advantage of reading all day, learning to ride horses and socializing at night with colorful characters like Balsan’s actress friend, Emilienne (Emmanuelle Devos), who refreshingly makes no apologies for her promiscuous, carefree lifestyle. Although she initially scoffs at Coco’s modest clothing, Emilienne soon discovers the advantage of garbing herself in outfits that, as Coco puts it, leave something to the imagination.
Another of Balsan’s comrades Coco meets is Arthur “Boy” Capel (American-born Alessandro Nivola), whose status as a working class Englishman separates him from the rest of the pack. Boy’s attraction to Coco is apparent from their first meeting, as he casts smoldering glances at Coco that would cause any warm-blooded female to swoon with delight. When Nivola opens his mouth and issues his lines with effortless French and British accents, it is difficult to believe that the actor was born and raised in Boston, Mass.
Having never been in love, it takes Coco some time to realize that this is what she feels for the dashing young Englishman, and, right under Balsan’s nose, the couple enters into a passionate affair. In addition to stealing Coco’s heart, Boy also encourages her to pursue her desire to become a self-made woman — a process that begins when she designs straw hats for Emilienne and her wealthy friends.
Coco’s introduction to romance is exciting but bittersweet because it comes with the realization that even the most seemingly ideal man is not perfect. At this point, the film nearly ceases to be a biopic and instead ventures into the realm of romantic drama, which, rather than detracting from the plot, provides a welcome element of intrigue.
Romantic affairs aside, the heart of this film is really the fashion. From the garish dresses that bring a sneer to Coco’s face to the mannish yet tasteful clothing worn by the designer, the costumes in “Coco Before Chanel” are a visual feast. Lovers of Chanel will delight in the film’s final minutes displaying Coco’s first clothing line, which launched the fashion empire that still bears her name to this day.