Coco Chanel

Shirley Maclaine is wonderful as the late older version of Coco Chanel who sets out again to prove her art as one of the finest fashion designers of ladies' fashions and perfume in the world. Barbara Borovona is also wonderful as the younger version of Coco Chanel who rises despite tragedy, hardship, and success. In this film, there are flashbacks and wonderfully done to show Coco's rise from a seamstress assistant to her own visionary. Malcolm McDowell (he deserves knighthood or something) is fine as Coco's business partner. I don't recall the names of the other cast members but they were all fine. I could see why Coco Chanel succeeded even in a male dominated business field at the time of ladies' fashion. Coco understood women being one herself and how clothes should be expressed and comfortable as well. It should be the men who get to be comfortable, women should be too.

A wonderful television film-just like the great television films they made in the 1970s.

The film is great due to the presence of the wonderful Shirley MacLaine. The latter portrays Chanel in her later years. There is a wonderful constant use of flashbacks here that convey the image of Chanel as a woman who conquered the world of fashion but whose personal life was quite a heartbreak.

My main criticism of the film was what happened to Chanel during World War 11? We see how her life evolved during the 1st World War.

In a way, MacLaine reminded me of her performance as the imperious music teacher, Madame Sousatzka, some years back. She still has that commanding domineering performance in her characters.

This is an excellent study of social class as Chanel lost two lovers due to the opposition of the mother of the first and the father of the second.

Chanel was definitely an eccentric as the film well depicts. She certainly went a long way to change the styles of what women wore during the years.

Christian Duguay's "Coco Chanel" is a lavishly produced biopic that attempts to trace the iconic designer's rise from humble beginnings to fashion legend. The film boasts impressive period detail, with exquisite costumes and sets that transport the viewer to early 20th-century France. Shirley MacLaine delivers a compelling performance as the older Chanel, embodying the designer's steely resolve and sharp wit. However, beneath its stylish exterior, the film offers a surprisingly superficial portrayal of its complex subject.

The narrative, while chronologically following Chanel's life, often feels like a series of disconnected vignettes rather than a cohesive story. Key relationships and pivotal moments are touched upon but rarely explored with the depth they deserve. The film struggles to truly delve into Chanel's motivations, her revolutionary vision, or the darker aspects of her later life. It's a film that prioritizes aesthetic over insight, leaving the audience with a beautiful but ultimately hollow portrait of a groundbreaking figure.

Is it worth watching? Yes, if you're interested in fashion history and appreciate strong production design, but don't expect a deep character study.

Yeah, I agree with the other review. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was a Nazi spy and an opportunist.

tho I will not deny the qualities as the rag to riches movie, it is not really true to make it a real bio pic CoCo never really had such hard times to get ahead- tho the collectors was a nice touch..she had lovers and used her sexuality from the start, so the "hard beginnings" were not that hard. omitted is the part when in the war times she was a mistress of a nazi officer and accused of collaboration. damaging her reputation in native France, recovered and ignored in the States othrewise quite a pleasant movie..p-ity it ignored real facts..not a fairy tale but a woman who succeeded all the means she had available and survived...a bit of truth would make this movie generally stronger and would not hurt Co cO's rise to success as a strong woman, a survivor at all costs, in the end a rich but lonely woman