If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

First I thought this movie is going to be English, but it was in French with English subtitles and I was thinking OK, I will watch it any way. But in the end I found my self so in this movie that I even lost that feeling that it is in French and I kind a loved it.More or less speaking about movie it self, it gave me that, after what I came for. As this movie is biographical, you can't expect a lot of action, so if you are looking for some adventure or action, juts keep looking.But if you are looking for a movie, which will give you a feeling that you just have seen really well made art piece, then this is it. Starting from French language, the way how movie looked by it self and actors, this movie is made for pure enjoyment. And overall I can say that we may think we are better or we may think we are worse than those who were before us or will be after us, but all I got from this movie was, that time changes, but we are still rather same, maybe the form is different, but still same.

Before watching this film Coco Chanel was for me just a designer,a couturiere, a great one of course.The importance of this film for me was in revealing first of all the personality behind the designer and most importantly her significance and role in shaping the identity of the modern woman.After watching this film she became for me not just a creator of clothes or style but the creator of new,modern,contemporary woman.She has been a breakthrough a turning point forever dividing the social,existential identity of women before and after her.By focusing on the course of her life from the early years of childhood passed in the orphanage to her introduction to the elite Parisian society; the film shows the evolution of Coco a seamstress and singer of second rate cabarets,the girl unrecognized and overshadowed by the aristocracy,to the Parisian woman who has earned the respect and recognition of the same "elite" society who once considered her an outsider.By following her personal life, like her stay at the castle of Etienne Balsan we see how the definition of a woman according to her has been shaped and what have been her challenges in establishing the image of the modern woman. Her breaking the rules of what was considered to be the merits of femininity,like her passion for horse riding,which led her to preference of more simple and practical tendance of clothing and wearing trousers,the film shows the sources of her inspirations,for example in her visit to the sea with the man she loved,she notices the fishermen,their lifestyle,their clothes and from there comes the iconic blue and white striped fisherman tops,one of her trademarks.The film shows us how through her silent observations she creates a revolution,a movement within the lifestyle and social status of women.She not only frees women from wearing corsets ,but allows them to breath the fresh air, the air of daring to be recognized as a woman in a plain little black dress.By following the genie of a woman Coco before Chanel shows us how in the first glance an ordinary and simple work like making dresses can be a great contribution to the creation of modern times.

I really didn't like this movie very much. We only got the barest sense of Chanel's style and how she grew into becoming a celebrity designer--instead, it felt like 30% of movies were shots of Balsan's degenerate castle lifestyle and Tatou being stony and sulky, before she met Boy Capel and it segued into a rather predictable love story that's very, very slow. There are endless shots of people's over the top hats and dresses.It doesn't much discuss Chanel's career, instead weaving it around a love story that wraps around the feminist constructions of those days, and the roles of women.

To be frank, this biographic film about legendary Gabrielle Chanel is disappointedly plain and perfunctory although it has a Chanelesque panache in its appearance and hardware. For me the dialogue is poorly written, full of clichés which could be easily eavesdropped during any cheap romantic chick flick. As it is a film about Chanel (especially as the title itself suggests that it's a film about her life before global success), the importance is to underline the uniqueness inside her which would bring her the later prestige fame, unfortunately the payoff of the film is her two bog- standard relationship both as a mistress, which eludes the most intriguing question, how could she manage to infuse her offbeat talent into the fashion business at her time? The film skimps a larger portion of it (which we could only witness from her intermittent scenes with Emilienne, an underperformed Emmanuelle Devos).Audrey Tautou did a great job to showcase Coco's pride and fragile in the same shot, as for two supporting lovers, Alessandro Nivola is handsome enough, but with a rather wooden performance, the chemistry between the lovebirds is far from convincing, which directly hampers the whole keynote of the film and demotes Coco's personal mien as well. On the contrary the ordinary-looking Benoit Poelvoorde deserves more recognition for his rough but more empathized interpretation as the rich womanizer, Baron Balsan. The fancy costumes of the film are worth appraising and it doesn't matter if you are in fashion business or not. But we are not watching a documentary or a fashion show, it is beyond its power to save the film itself from being a mediocre one.