Coco Before Chanel [DVD]

I'm giving this a five to make up for all the imbeciles who have criticized a French film for being in French, and the other imbeciles who think it should have had more explosions in it. Actually, I thought it was a four.

I don't know how accurate the details of Coco Chanel's life are as shown, but it conveys the period beautifully. I think the French do historical films very well - partly because of their attention to detail, and partly because they concentrate on showing how things were rather than preaching or disapproving.

Audrey Tatou is in every scene and is rivetting. She plays Chanel as the relaistic and determined person she must have been. The other actors are good too, no wrong notes.

And it's stunningly photographed. Whether it's the inside of the convent, the ballroom in her lover's chateau, or the beach at Deauville, you can't take your eyes off it. For myself, I would have liked to know more about the fabrics and the clothes, but I realise I'm in a minority. I had expected to watch this film once and move on, but now I know I'll watch it again - well written, very well acted and beautifully photographed.

The Guardian stated in its review of Coco Before Chanel that it is dull. I have to disagree with that completely. This is elegant, refined, inspiring and as an added bonus it features the lovely Audrey Tautou.

Chanel as the subject matter of a film is interesting as when you look at the company's many high end products you realise that you know very little if anything about the woman whose name sits so proudly and smartly them. I loved the simplistic approach this movie took to Chanel's life and the novel idea of analysing her before her success. There are so many gross, hysterical films now that are almost pornographic and it is wonderful to come across a film that is controlled and tasteful.

The story begins with a heart breaking scene, Chanel and her sister abandoned by their father. The DVD extras reveal that not all the scenes should be taken at face value and that because Chanel used to exaggerate certain aspects of her life to convey and place emphasis on social problems, the script was written in the same manner. The plot is a journey of hope, expectation, disappointment, despair, love and achievement. The film is structured in such way that it is impossible to not feel anything but admiration for Chanel because of her courage and her intellect.

Character wise the film is aided by a strong supporting cast who all come across as believable. Boy in the film (Nivola) is the most intriguing character after Chanel. The right depth is given to Chanel's character. None of the segments of the film feel rushed and you always believe that Tautou is her.

I can only describe the script as beautiful. A thing of joy. It really is very pleasant. As the film is subtitled it helps you to take in the dialogue more than you would have done if it had been acted in English. The authenticity of the film is ensured through the use of French in the film and thankfully you do not have to endure actors speaking their lines in a multitude of accents as so often happens in period dramas set in Europe.

The locations used at the different points of Chanel's early life range from squalid to lush. It all looks bona fide.

My only complaint is the very end of the ending which is why I only gave it 4 stars. As with a lot of biopics the film ends with a sort of bullet point list of what happened next to her. I did not like this as it is so often used and just feels tired. Furthermore, I cannot believe that there is anyone who doesn't know of Chanel in a fashion sense so to have to read that she was an icon in that world was a bit silly. I also think that if the screen writer thought that those extra details weren't important enough to portray on screen then you shouldn't have to read about them. That was the only thing I didn't like about the film. Other than that minor point I have to say that the last scene is so gorgeous, staggeringly sumptuous. It is memorable picture and it has panache.

Speaking as a keen devotee both of French films and films without an extensive narrative to drive a plot (and trust me, I've seen plenty of those in my time!), you would expect me to enjoy Coco Before Chanel. In fact, I found the film somewhat shapeless and undramatic. Ravishing to look at, beautifully acted and correct in almost every detail, but with insufficient substance to fill the 2 hours allotted. I kept wanting something different to happen, but it never did.

The title is the giveaway: Coco before Chanel, indeed. Coco after Chanel is glossed over in the text epilogue displayed after the film has ended. Are we to assume Coco's life during these years of huge success so undramatic they did not warrant any screen time? Why not Coco Chanel's full life story? Compared to the La Vie En Rose, the entire film fails to deliver the goods, but I can't believe that is simply because less happened to Chanel than to Piaf.

Admittedly, the subject and her relative lack of emotional intensity does not help, portrayed with accuracy but no real charm by the excellent Tautou. A car crash betrays the only real feeling in the film. Seldom do we get inside the character to learn her inner drive. Surely there must have been more layers of the Chanel onion to peel? At any rate, the character and the film appear distant and uninvolving, which is a great shame.