Tautou outstanding in ‘Coco Before Chanel’

Director: Anne Fontaine

Cast: Audrey Tautou, Alessandro Nivola, Benoît Poelvoorde

Cert: 15

The early life and hard times of orphan Gabrielle - who became the great fashion Queen, Coco Chanel.

This is the first of two screen bios of the French fashionista and covers the period leading up to her fame, a period of love, lust and learning.

In an often slow-paced story Tautou, as Chanel, is outstanding and the film is quite stunning to look at.

The major problem is that what Chanel fans will be most interested in, her fab designs and her place in the history of looking good, isn’t really touched on to any great degree.

Star Rating: 3/5