Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Jan Kounen's biopic about a brief but tempestuous affair between the famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel and the great Russian composer Igor Stravinsky opens with a stunning recreation of the 1913 Paris premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, which caused an audience riot. Seven years later, Chanel (Anna Mouglalis), who was in the audience that fateful night, invites the composer (Mads Mikkelsen) and his family to take up residence at her villa, after which the central pair fall into a passionate relationship right under the eyes of Stravinsky's wife. The titular couple's liaison is intended, like the aforementioned ballet, to suggest primal urges, but despite the occasional scenes of naked, sweating bodies, the story never achieves true visceral power. Much of the problem stems from the fact that both characters are stiff and arrogant: their pairing generates neither emotional heat nor intellectual light. And the overall treatment is so decorous and deliberate that the potential for dramatic energy simply drains away. One can appreciate Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky for its impeccable settings, period costumes, luscious cinematography, intelligent score, and even for some of the secondary roles, but the center of the film is disappointingly hollow. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (21 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)