Coco Before Chanel
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69% Critic Match

Coco Before Chanel

Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…

6.9 / 10 2009 1h 50mPG-13 French
DramaHistory

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.

Cast & Crew

Audrey Tautou

Audrey Tautou

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

Lead
Benoît Poelvoorde

Benoît Poelvoorde

Étienne Balsan

Alessandro Nivola

Alessandro Nivola

Arthur 'Boy' Capel

Marie Gillain

Marie Gillain

Adrienne Chanel

Emmanuelle Devos

Emmanuelle Devos

Émilienne d'Alençon

Régis Royer

Régis Royer

Alec, Jockey

Étienne Bartholomeus

Étienne Bartholomeus

Balsan Butler

Yan Duffas

Yan Duffas

Maurice de Nexon

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Anne Fontaine's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. Coco Before Chanel is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker