Coco Avant (Before) Chanel (2009)

For much of COCO AVANT CHANEL ("Coco Before Chanel"), I worried that I was watching nothing more than a standard bio-pic and - much worse - one about someone I cared little about. Two things, however, pulled me out of that feeling.

The first was Audrey Tatou, who, I think, gives a fantastic performance as the woman who would become Coco Chanel, fashion icon. Somewhat surprisingly, Tatou plays Chanel as a woman who saved outward joy (such as a smile) for rare occasions. It's a sharp contrast to our idea of the joy a designer would feel when creating, and an even more shocking contrast to Tatou's most famous acting work in "Amelie," one of the decades most striking films (albeit one that I feel is overrated).

The other thing that swayed me to the positive side about COCO AVANT CHANEL was an incredibly cinematic moment that did not come until three quarters of the way through the film. In a gorgeously-choreographed ballroom scene, Chanel conspicuously swirls around the floor in a short, black dress, while every other woman in the frame is laced tightly in the corset-supported, frilly and flowing gowns of the day -- the very sort of clothing that drove Chanel to create clothes that were more comfortable for women.

In this fantastic scene, everything clicks: why Chanel is so motivated, what she is revolting against. One sees in this moment that the simplicity of her style was likely inspired by the nuns who raised her as a young girl. If you're a woman and at all interested in fashion, you would probably enjoy this chapter in the history of the black dress mystique.

That said, I can compliment COCO AVANT CHANEL for being a biography film that felt as though it could have been a fictional story. Beyond that, however, it was fairly conventional in many ways, short of the fact that the story ends right at the moment when most people with an interest in Chanel would be most interested: when she hits the big time as a designer. Actually, we don't even see that...we assume that what we do see is what leads up to it.

There is surprisingly little in the way of fashion tutorials. No Rocky-style montages of Chanel sewing up frocks or giving an impassioned monologue about her dreams. Rather, she lives a somewhat sad and dreary young life and has the clear vision and determination to make something better of it. The film is as unsentimental as she is. Chanel was willing to do whatever to achieve her goals, including using men.

While the story of Chanel was not something I was seeking out or necessarily drawn to or interested in, there were a few moments of spark in COCO AVANT CHANEL that kept my interest, Tatou most prominent among them.

2.5 out of 4