Product Description

Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amlie) shines in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco.

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Before she became Coco, the world-famous fashion designer, Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou in a fiercely determined performance) struggled to make ends meet. After her mother's death, her father deposited her and her sister, Adrienne (Marie Gillain), at an orphanage, where they learned to sew (and where Chanel developed a taste for monochromatic ensembles). They went on to become cabaret singers, but when Adrienne runs off with a wealthy suitor, the newly christened Coco must go it alone until she meets gentleman farmer tienne Balsan (Benot Poelvoorde). She lives comfortably at his chateau, but he refuses to take her out in public, so she puts her skills as a seamstress to good use and designs outfits for his lady friends, like Emilienne (Emmanuelle Devos), an actress. Chanel's situation improves further when British investor Arthur "Boy" Capel (Alessandro Nivola with an impeccable French accent) enters the scene. Her working-class origins present less of a problem with Capel, though the couple will have other issues with which to contend. In the meantime, he gives her the money to open her own Parisian studio, and the film ends with the tweed suit-clad Chanel of the popular imagination. Until that time, writer-director Anne Fontaine (The Girl from Monaco) presents a very different character, a woman who wasn't worldly or sophisticated, but who saw no reason why fashion--or "style," as she called it--should be complicated or uncomfortable. In transforming herself, Coco Chanel transformed an entire industry and, arguably, an entire gender. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


Stills from Coco Before Chanel (Click for larger image)

• Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
• MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.25 x 0.5 inches; 2.4 ounces
• Director : Anne Fontaine
• Media Format : Multiple Formats, AC-3, Color, NTSC, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time : 1 hour and 50 minutes
• Release date : February 16, 2010
• Actors : Audrey Tautou, Benot Poelvoorde
• Subtitles: : English
• Language : Unqualified
• Studio : Sony Pictures Classics
• Number of discs : 1