Coco Before Chanel( 2009)

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69%

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Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…

Overview

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.

Top Billed Cast

Audrey Tautou
Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel
Benoît Poelvoorde
Etienne Balsan
Alessandro Nivola
Arthur 'Boy' Capel
Marie Gillain
Adrienne Chanel
Emmanuelle Devos
Emilienne d'Alençon
Régis Royer
Alec, Jockey
Étienne Bartholomeus
Balsan Butler
Yan Duffas
Maurice de Nexon
Fabien Béhar
Shop Boss
Roch Leibovici
Jean, Groom
Jean-Yves Chatelais
Bellowing Director
Pierre Diot
Actor in the Theater
Vincent Nemeth
Fat Man in the Theater
Bruno Abraham-Kremer
Tailor in Deauville
Lisa Cohen
Gabrielle Chanel, 10 Years Old
Inès Bessalem
Adrienne Chanel, 10 Years Old
Marie-Bénédicte Roy
Shop Client
Émilie Gavois-Kahn
Replacement Seamstress
Fanny Deblock
Balsan Prostitute
Claude Brécourt
Director Alcazar
Karina Marimon
Girl at Picnic
Bruno Paviot
Guest Balsan
Franck Monsigny
Guest Balsan
Marie Parouty
Sophie, Friend of Emilienne
Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc
Raymond
Marie-Josée Hubert
Cooker
Patrick Laviosa
Pianist Bellowing at Balsan
Kim Schwarck
Girl in Coco's Lodge
Marthe Drouin
Bellowing Singer (uncredited)
Frantz Herman
Guest Balsan (uncredited)
Emma Jouannet
Young Walker Deauville (uncredited)
Berenice Sand
Walker Deauville (uncredited)

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Review 1Discussion

A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Wed Apr 10 2024

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...