Directed by: Wash Westmoreland
Written by: Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Cast: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw, Eleanor Tomlinson, Robert Pugh
Colette whose real name was Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, is acknowledged to be France’s most famous, albeit bawdy, female author. This wonderful film, made all the more wonderful by the outstanding performance of Keira Knightley, is an enjoyable romp through the circumstances that led the author to “come out of the closet.” It’s a story of liberation and empowerment at a time in Paris when challenging gender norms was fraught with imprisonment or worse.
This scrumptiously decadent 19th-century French period piece is filled with enough charm and self-aware wit to satisfy even the most jaded film-goer. The film’s take on the eclectic, gossip ridden, social scene of Paris at the time is divine and its look at the seeder more decadent side of city life has a ring of truth that’s more than a little palatable.
Keira Knightley more than inhabits the character of Colette, she actually becomes her in such a wondrous way that you actually feel the suffocating manner in which she’s forced to live under the commanding rule of her husband, and you rejoice at her escape from the tyranny of marriage and her eventual joy in the arms of a woman.
Here’s The Storyline
Willy (West), a successful Parisian writer, marries a vulnerable country girl, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Knightley), and moves her from rural France to the center of the intellectual and artistic capital of the world. Shortly afterward, Willy begins to feel the monetary pinch of his gambling and debauchery and unable to pay or inspire his team of writers to come up with anything sellable, he convinces Colette to pen a semi-autobiographical novel about a brazen young country girl named Claudine.
Released under Willy’s pen name, the book becomes both a bestseller and a cultural sensation. The couple becomes the talk of Paris, and their adventures in the company of French society inspire several more Claudine novels
What follows is Colette’s fight to overcome the societal constraints of the early 20th century and her fight to claim ownership of the novels.
Director Wash Westmoreland has created a beautiful vision of the period that’s just a delight for the eye. His take on historical figures that were controversial at the time seems to add a modern quality to them which makes them all the more interesting and pertinent for our times. Lastly, I can’t finish this review without applauding the performances of both Keira Knightley and Dominic West, they are a ‘Tour de Force’ with each being the perfect foil for the struggle between the two main characters. Bravo.
My take… I loved this film. It rates among the best period pieces out there. It also says many positive things about the LGBT community. You should see it.
