CINEMA: Coco Before Chanel

Audrey Tautou bewitched us with her first big hit Amelie, but has not really made any impression since.

She’s far more convincing here, as dowdy little seamstress Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, destined to go on to much greater things, but interestingly her performance, good as it is, is matched by two perfectly delivered male characterisations. The first comes from Benoit Poelvoorde, as the massively wealthy socialite who becomes her sugar-daddy and verbal sparring partner – the sweetly coated barbs they sling at each other send shivers of outraged delight down the spine.

The other is the criminally under appreciated Alessandro Nivola as the English gentleman she falls head over heels in love with.

When not engaged in the battle of the sexes young, headstrong Gabrielle decides to create her own lifestyle and fashion sense and turns from a gawky if wilful shop girl, into the darling of the stylish rich.

Having bemoaned the parlous state of the modern romcom last week, it’s nice to be able to write that this is one romance with a successful, ambitious female lead that doesn’t depict her as a heartless bitch or descend into trite happily-ever-after sentimentality.

There was no romantic happy ending for Coco Chanel, but that didn’t stop her from forging her own successful path through life.  With some stunning settings and costumes and those two very strong central pairings, it’s a great tale of a historical figure who comes across as a thoroughly modern woman.

Dee Pilgrim