Coco Before Chanel
2009 · 1h 50m · Drama, History
Watch it tonight if you're in the mood for a stylish, character-driven biopic with genuine emotional depth. Audrey Tautou brings her usual charm to Coco Chanel's origin story, and director Anne Fontaine crafts an elegant portrait of ambition and reinvention that resonates beyond fashion history.
Plot
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.
Director: Anne Fontaine
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain, Emmanuelle Devos