Coco Before Chanel

Before she became Coco, the world-famous fashion designer, Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou) struggled to make ends meet. After her mother's death, her father deposited her and her sister, Adrienne (Marie Gillain), at an orphanage, where they learned to sew (and where Gabrielle developed a taste for monochromatic ensembles). The two went on to become cabaret singers, but when Adrienne runs off with a wealthy suitor, the newly christened “Coco” must go it alone until she meets gentleman farmer Étienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde). Coco lives comfortably at his chateau, but Étienne won't take her out in public with his high-society acquaintances, so she puts her seamstress skills to good use and designs outfits for his lady friends, such as the actress Emilienne (Emmanuelle Devos). Chanel's situation further improves when British investor Arthur “Boy” Capel (Alessandro Nivola) enters the scene (her working-class origins present less of an issue, although the couple will have other problems), giving her the money to open her own shop. Although the film ends with the tweed suit–clad Chanel of the popular imagination, most of director Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel (nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design) presents the subject as a very different character—a woman who wasn't worldly or sophisticated but who saw no reason why fashion (or “style,” as she called it) should be complicated or uncomfortable. In transforming herself, Coco Chanel transformed an entire industry. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Anne Fontaine, a “making-of” featurette (46 min.), “The Meeting” featurette on real-life fashion designer Coco Chanel (18 min.), a “Walking the Red Carpet: From Los Angeles to New York” featurette (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this Oscar-nominated biopic.] (K. Fennessy)