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Coco Before Chanel

"Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…"

2009-04-22 Drama 1hr 50m

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.

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Coco Before Chanel
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Storyline

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.

  • Released
    2009-04-22
  • Revenue
    n/a
  • Budget
    n/a
  • Runtime
    1hr 50m
  • Genre
    Drama, History
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    Français, English
  • imdb-logo
    6.6
  • Production
    Haut et Court, Ciné-@, France 2 Cinéma, SCOPE Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment France

Crew

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Cast

Audrey Tautou

Audrey Tautou

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel
Benoît Poelvoorde

Benoît Poelvoorde

Etienne Balsan
Alessandro Nivola

Alessandro Nivola

Arthur 'Boy' Capel
Marie Gillain

Marie Gillain

Adrienne Chanel
Emmanuelle Devos

Emmanuelle Devos

Emilienne d'Alençon
Régis Royer

Régis Royer

Alec, Jockey
Yan Duffas

Yan Duffas

Maurice de Nexon
Fabien Béhar

Fabien Béhar

Shop Boss
Roch Leibovici

Roch Leibovici

Jean, Groom
Jean-Yves Chatelais

Jean-Yves Chatelais

Bellowing Director
Pierre Diot

Pierre Diot

Actor in the Theater
Vincent Nemeth

Vincent Nemeth

Fat Man in the Theater
Bruno Abraham-Kremer

Bruno Abraham-Kremer

Tailor in Deauville
Lisa Cohen

Lisa Cohen

Gabrielle Chanel, 10 Years Old
Inès Bessalem

Inès Bessalem

Adrienne Chanel, 10 Years Old
Émilie Gavois-Kahn

Émilie Gavois-Kahn

Replacement Seamstress
Fanny Deblock

Fanny Deblock

Balsan Prostitute
Claude Brécourt

Claude Brécourt

Director Alcazar
Karina Marimon

Karina Marimon

Girl at Picnic
Bruno Paviot

Bruno Paviot

Guest Balsan
Franck Monsigny

Franck Monsigny

Guest Balsan
Marie Parouty

Marie Parouty

Sophie, Friend of Emilienne
Patrick Laviosa

Patrick Laviosa

Pianist Bellowing at Balsan
Kim Schwarck

Kim Schwarck

Girl in Coco's Lodge
Marthe Drouin

Marthe Drouin

Bellowing Singer (uncredited)
Frantz Herman

Frantz Herman

Guest Balsan (uncredited)
Emma Jouannet

Emma Jouannet

Young Walker Deauville (uncredited)
Berenice Sand

Berenice Sand

Walker Deauville (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel
Coco Before Chanel

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Coco Before Chanel
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-04-10

Audrey Tautou is actually quite impressive here as the legendary French designer, but the rest of this rather blandly photographed melodrama... read more

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.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by CinemaSerf

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 orphan...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 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 b...

read more