In fairness to Anne Fontaine, the director, this isn't meant to be the full story of Coco's life. The events of the film seem to have been carefully chosen.
Comment
06/28/09
Coco Before Chanel (2009)
66
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:108
Fresh:71
Rotten:37
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Though it doesn't quite capture the complexity of its subject's life, Coco Avant Chanel remains a fascinating, appropriately lovely tribute.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jun 25, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $2,110,779
Synopsis: Coco Before Chanel is the story of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, who began her life as headstrong orphan, and through an extraordinary journey became the legendary couturier who embodied the modern... [More]
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain
Director: Anne Fontaine
Reviews for Coco Before Chanel
Top CriticThe story of Coco's formative years is fascinating, if let down a little by a somewhat stereotypical orphan opening and a haphazard rush to the finish line.
06/28/09
Top CriticIt doesn't quite fulfil the promise of the subject.
06/24/09
Top CriticIt’s an unconventional life and a fascinating story brought rather limply to life by director Anne Fontaine.
06/24/09
Top CriticThe film is best viewed as a beguiling fairytale about a woman who loved fashion while despising the concept of the fashion victim.
06/24/09
Top CriticThose flocking in for the fancy frocks will be in for a surprise in this approved biopic, which has its emphasis on the "before" part of the title.
06/24/09
Top CriticAudrey Tautou, gives a near flawless performance as an ambitious, unorthodox young Chanel.
06/23/09
Top CriticMuch is said, but we feel little. It is the imagery that wafts into our senses like the alluring No 5. I can still see her in my mind's eye, wearing chic white pyjamas, cigarette dangling from her lips as she puts the finishing touches to her latest hat.
06/19/09
Top CriticUltimately, [Benoit Poelvoorde] is the one who holds this knotty yarn in place.
11/06/09
This guilty pleasure costume drama leaves you wanting to know more about this extraordinary woman considered one of the most influential in the 20th century. Let's hope that Fontaine can do a follow-up with "After" in the title.
11/06/09
The script...adheres closely to biopic conventions but is brought alive by the magnetic performance of Tautou with strong support particularly from Poelvoorde and Devos.
11/06/09
'Coco Before Chanel'? Whose bright idea was that? Isn't that like 'Amelia Before Airplanes'? Or 'Frankenstein Before Med School'?
11/06/09
A better title: "Coco Before She Was Interesting."
11/06/09
Earlier in the year we had Julia Childs, two weeks ago we has Amelia Earhart, and this week we have Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. Who's next? Rachel Ray and her journey to invent edible crayons? Hannah Montana's battle against Dissociative Identity Disorder?
11/06/09
A familiar lemonade-from-lemons period biopic or, in the case of the fashionista, a smart-suit-from-tattered-threads tale.
11/06/09
There's a lot to like here. The film looks beautiful, and Alexandre Desplat's score is suitably moody.
11/05/09
The thread connecting the ambitious girl to the acclaimed woman is enough to make us wish for a sequel titled Chanel No. 2.
11/05/09
Fontaine manages to create a film that captures both the essence of its subject and the times and circumstances that helped to shape her.
11/04/09
[T]here's a anesthetized feel to this sedate biopic that suggests a wrongheadedness in its focus: maybe the more interesting part of her life was after she became the icon of fashion...
11/03/09
As essayed by Audrey Tautou through Anne Fontaine's lens, this Chanel is dry as toast and the antithesis of her sensual sartorial creations.
11/03/09
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