Coco Chanel Review

In the movie Coco Chanel, Lifetime attempted to tell the story of French fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. Known for such classics as feminine-inspired menswear, quilted purses, and the little black dress, Chanel took the fashion world by storm. With Shirley MacLaine starring as Coco Chanel and Barbora Bobulova assisting as the young Coco Chanel, Lifetime told her story accurately, albeit slowly.

MacLaine and Bobulova looked similar enough to one another to have played mother and daughter, which made the transition from present-day Chanel to young Chanel seemless. However, at one point, for some reason, I thought the young woman playing young Chanel was Degrassi's Cassie Steele. Malcolm McDowell executed a very good performance as Chanel's business partner Marc; perhaps he could have played Karl Lagerfield, the designer who took over the Chanel empire after Chanel's death in 1971, had he been a major player in the movie.

However, the movie told more than just the story of her fashion empire. Like any biopic, it told the story of her life, her beginnings, her love stories. The movie beautifully portrayed her humble beginning as a budding designer, but in the love department, it portrayed her as a sadomasochist (not in a sexual way) with low self-esteem despite her independent, tenacious personality. Having been betrayed, lied to, and rejected, Chanel seemed to expect the men she dated to treat her badly and lie to her to the point that the men actually did lie to her by the time she developed faith in them. But perhaps it was the mere thought and fear of getting betrayed and lied to that made her unable to trust people.

Perhaps Lifetime will take on a Karl Lagerfield biopic should the network decide to make a sequel or series revolving around the Chanel fashion empire.