Coco Before Chanel

Coco Before Chanel
French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anne Fontaine
Produced by	Caroline Benjo
Written by	Edmonde Charles-Roux Anne Fontaine Camille Fontaine
Starring	Audrey Tautou Benoît Poelvoorde Alessandro Nivola
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography	Christophe Beaucarne
Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	22 April 2009 (2009-04-22)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	France
Language	French Spanish
Budget	$23 million
Box office	$50,812,855 [1]

Coco Before Chanel (French: Coco avant Chanel) is a 2009 French film directed by Anne Fontaine, about the early life of the famed French fashion designer Coco Chanel.

The film was released in April 2009 in France and went on to international release. As of December 21, 2009, it has grossed $43,832,376 worldwide.^[1]

Instead of releasing this film in the United States itself, Warner Bros. Pictures decided to let Sony Pictures Classics handle the release there.^[2] The film grossed $6 million in the United States.^[3][4]

Coco Before Chanel was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three European Film Awards, six César Awards and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

Plot

Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her, a young Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She is 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 entry into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats.

Coco falls in love with an English businessman named Boy Capel, who believes in her talent making hats and as a designer, as he says to Coco, "There's no one else like you". As Coco's business flourishes and life is going as well as ever, she is devastated when her love Capel dies in a car accident. However, Coco still has the business that Capel helped her start as a reminder of her love.

Response

Roger Ebert praised the film for its unsentimental approach to Chanel's early years.^[5]

Cast

• Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel
• Benoît Poelvoorde as Étienne Balsan
• Alessandro Nivola as Arthur Capel
• Marie Gillain as Adrienne Chanel
• Emmanuelle Devos as Emilienne d'Alençon

Accolades

• Academy Award for Best Costume Design (Catherine Leterrier, nominee)
• BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Film (Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne and Anne Fontaine, nominees)
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Audrey Tautou, nominee)
• BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design (Catherine Leterrier, nominee)
• BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair (Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen and Jane Milon, nominees)
• César Award for Best Writing (Anne Fontaine and Camille Fontaine, nominees)
• César Award for Best Actress (Audrey Tautou, nominee)
• César Award for Best Supporting Actor (Benoît Poelvoorde, nominee)
• César Award for Best Cinematography (Christophe Beaucarne, nominee)
• César Award for Best Costume Design (Catherine Leterrier, winner)
• César Award for Best Production Design (Olivier Radot, nominee)
• European Film Awards Audience Award (Anne Fontaine, nominee)
• European Film Award for Best Composer (Alexandre Desplat, nominee)
• European Film Awards Prix d'Excellence for Best Costume Design (Catherine Leterrier, nominee)
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Anne Fontaine, nominee)
• World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year (Alexandre Desplat, winner)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Coco Before Chanel (2009)". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/COCO.php. Retrieved November 30, 2009. 
2. ^ Jaafar, Ali (April 17, 2009). "Hollywood biz without borders". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002564.html?categoryid=1019&cs=1&query=coco+warner+sony. 
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ Tobias, Scott (2004-11-19). "Foreign affairs". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000724461. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Coco Before Chanel". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091007/REVIEWS/910079994/1023. 

External links

• Official website (French)
• Coco Before Chanel at the Internet Movie Database
• Coco Before Chanel at AllRovi
• Coco Before Chanel at Box Office Mojo
• Coco Before Chanel at Rotten Tomatoes