/kZkk6iLvFPOiF6Xze2fYSiTbJ1Q.jpg
DramaHistory

Coco Before Chanel

- Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…

Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.

Release Date : 2009-04-22

Language :FrenchEnglish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Haut et CourtCiné-@France 2 CinémaSCOPE PicturesWarner Bros. Entertainment France

Production Country : BelgiumFrance

Alternative Titles : Coco avant ChanelCoco Before Chanel

Cast

Audrey Tautou

Character Name : Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

Original Name : Audrey Tautou

Gender : Female

Benoît Poelvoorde

Character Name : Etienne Balsan

Original Name : Benoît Poelvoorde

Gender : Male

Alessandro Nivola

Character Name : Arthur 'Boy' Capel

Original Name : Alessandro Nivola

Gender : Male

Marie Gillain

Character Name : Adrienne Chanel

Original Name : Marie Gillain

Gender : Female

Emmanuelle Devos

Character Name : Emilienne d'Alençon

Original Name : Emmanuelle Devos

Gender : Female

Régis Royer

Character Name : Alec, Jockey

Original Name : Régis Royer

Gender : Male

Étienne Bartholomeus

Character Name : Balsan Butler

Original Name : Étienne Bartholomeus

Gender : Male

Yan Duffas

Character Name : Maurice de Nexon

Original Name : Yan Duffas

Gender : Male

Fabien Béhar

Character Name : Shop Boss

Original Name : Fabien Béhar

Gender : Male

Roch Leibovici

Character Name : Jean, Groom

Original Name : Roch Leibovici

Gender : Male

Jean-Yves Chatelais

Character Name : Bellowing Director

Original Name : Jean-Yves Chatelais

Gender : Male

Pierre Diot

Character Name : Actor in the Theater

Original Name : Pierre Diot

Gender : Male

Vincent Nemeth

Character Name : Fat Man in the Theater

Original Name : Vincent Nemeth

Gender : Male

Bruno Abraham-Kremer

Character Name : Tailor in Deauville

Original Name : Bruno Abraham-Kremer

Gender : Male

Lisa Cohen

Character Name : Gabrielle Chanel, 10 Years Old

Original Name : Lisa Cohen

Gender : Female

Inès Bessalem

Character Name : Adrienne Chanel, 10 Years Old

Original Name : Inès Bessalem

Gender : Female

Marie-Bénédicte Roy

Character Name : Shop Client

Original Name : Marie-Bénédicte Roy

Gender : Female

Émilie Gavois-Kahn

Character Name : Replacement Seamstress

Original Name : Émilie Gavois-Kahn

Gender : Female

Fanny Deblock

Character Name : Balsan Prostitute

Original Name : Fanny Deblock

Gender : Female

Claude Brécourt

Character Name : Director Alcazar

Original Name : Claude Brécourt

Gender : Male

Karina Marimon

Character Name : Girl at Picnic

Original Name : Karina Marimon

Gender : Female

Bruno Paviot

Character Name : Guest Balsan

Original Name : Bruno Paviot

Gender : Male

Franck Monsigny

Character Name : Guest Balsan

Original Name : Franck Monsigny

Gender : Male

Marie Parouty

Character Name : Sophie, Friend of Emilienne

Original Name : Marie Parouty

Gender : Female

Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc

Character Name : Raymond

Original Name : Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc

Gender : Male

Marie-Josée Hubert

Character Name : Cooker

Original Name : Marie-Josée Hubert

Gender : Female

Patrick Laviosa

Character Name : Pianist Bellowing at Balsan

Original Name : Patrick Laviosa

Gender : Male

Kim Schwarck

Character Name : Girl in Coco's Lodge

Original Name : Kim Schwarck

Gender : Female

Marthe Drouin

Character Name : Bellowing Singer (uncredited)

Original Name : Marthe Drouin

Gender : Female

Frantz Herman

Character Name : Guest Balsan (uncredited)

Original Name : Frantz Herman

Gender : Male

Emma Jouannet

Character Name : Young Walker Deauville (uncredited)

Original Name : Emma Jouannet

Gender : Female

Berenice Sand

Character Name : Walker Deauville (uncredited)

Original Name : Berenice Sand

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-04-10

Audrey Tautou is actually quite impressive here as the legendary French designer, but the rest of this rather blandly photographed melodrama is really more about her love life than her career. She's born Gabrielle and having left the orphanage in which she was abandoned with sister Adrienne (Marie Gillain), takes a job as a seamstress and supplements that with some cabaret work. Clearly she has skill - at both, but it's her charms at the latter that interest the wealthy Baron Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde). His name and association opens many doors for this aspiring woman but she tends to look upon him more, to his increasing chagrin, like a brother as she takes a shine to visiting British coal millionaire Arthur "Boy" Capel (Alessandro Nivola) who agrees to fund her first millinery enterprise. Like so many of these rags-to-riches biopics, we spend way too long on the childhood and family dynamic before almost accidentally ending up at the how she got her break stuff. We hardly build at all on just how she became the woman she was. Those elements are sparingly portrayed and rushed leaving us with large parts of this drama delivering more of a Merchant Ivory style love triangle, peppered with some "House of Eliot" that has more of the soap than the salon to it. That said, Tautou rarely puts a foot wrong and does go some way to convince - despite the over scripting and underwhelming screenplay, and there's an hint of chemistry with Nivola too. It's fine, but sadly - nothing more, and it does little justice to Chanel as a woman or a brand.