THOUGH ITS SUBJECT is arguably the most recognizable in
fashion, Coco Before Chanel is more concerned with individuality
than clothing. As Coco Chanel herself once famously put it, “Fashion
passes, style remains.” And style, its significance, is what director
Anne Fontaine (The Girl from Monaco, Dry Cleaning)
captures in this inspiring portrait of a young Chanel before she made
her fame and fortune.
Contrary to the opulence she made a career of promoting, Chanel (a
mesmerizing, and for-once not cloying Audrey Tautou) was born an
illegitimate orphan who worked in dives as a mediocre cabaret singer
before grafting herself onto the first likely millionaire to come
within striking distance. This was Étienne Balsan (Benoît
Poelvoorde), who filled his mansion with drunks and silly socialites in
giant hats and suffocating corsets. As bitterly disdainful as she was
of these women and their costumes (it didn’t help that for a time
Balsan hid her when they were around), it was this cadre of early
customers amused by her mannish dress and simple hats who launched her
career.
Fontaine’s film isn’t for fashion-insiders only; Chanel’s eccentric
style is portrayed as an extension of her outsider status and
determination. Yes, there are moments when she whips up a little black
dress for herself, or discovers jersey, but the clothing is primarily a
manifestation of Chanel as feminist. Even her affair with Arthur “Boy”
Capel (Alessandro Nivola), which ended in heartbreak, is implied here
as the final steeling for a long, landmark career.
To this day, Chanel—who habitually lied, rewriting her life
story—remains controversial, in particular due to an affair she
had with a Nazi officer much later in life. But Fontaine distills her
most admirable qualities, as a woman who valued hard work, independence
(financial and otherwise) from any man, and an uncluttered
wardrobe.