Word: chanel
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...cinematic stimulus plan rolls out in full next weekend. Bright Star, Jane Campion's moony tale of the doomed poet John Keats and his soul mate, Fanny Browne, expanded to 130 screens and earned a hearty $682,000 from lovers of sentimental art-house fare. And Coco Before Chanel, one of three biopics of the couturier to be released in theaters or on DVD this year - this one starring Amelie's Audrey Tautou - had a moderately glamorous debut, with $177,000 in five boutiques...
...phrasing is interesting in that it makes Chanel the woman sound like a good suit. Later, when Boy asks Etienne if he can "borrow" Coco for a few days, the way you'd ask for the loan of a sweater, our hearts sink for her. Any happiness she has seems likely to be fleeting, but he, like so much else in the film, is a provider of inspiration. His shirts, his pajamas, his own elegance will eventually be reflected in her clothing. They are emblems of him, but also hold pieces of her past; her simple life of poverty...
...Those who love fashion will be intrigued by this, at least to a point, after which Coco Before Chanel starts to feel like witnessing a sponge at work in the act of absorption. That's not generally the stuff of compelling cinema. We prefer the end results of a personal education rather than the acquisition of it. If Project Runway were about the formation of the designers' sensibilities rather than the creative execution of that sensibility, would anyone watch? This automatically puts Fontaine's film at a disadvantage, and the truly enigmatic nature of her subject only compounds...
...Tatou is far prettier than Chanel was, which isn't any kind of insult, given that she's also prettier than 99.99% of human beings. And her almost black, knowing but unknowable eyes lend themselves to portraying mystery. But as lovely as she is, she's not someone to whom style comes naturally. A person with innate style can put on a sailor shirt and make you want to run out and get exactly that shirt. You put on that shirt and realize you don't have "it," that you imitate but don't emulate. Tatou in Chanel's beloved...
...Read about the evolution of the Chanel jacket...