There is a vital reasoning behind the purpose of making this film. Chanel is one of the most influential persons of the 20th century, and Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is arguably the best piece of music ever composed. As a matter or fact, I am quite surprised this story, in its generality, was not tackled sooner. This film has many of the element we see in any other films that are well shot, acted, and edited. However, it is the constant vagueness of the storyline which concerns me and left me unsatisfied. I can see the styling of sparse dialog, especially when the writers can convey all the meaning they need to with forced economy, and economical dialog is what you get with this film. However, this is an information-driven story, and next to nothing is explained to the point I felt it was assumed that I as a viewer were to be expected to know the details about the subject before hand. As a result, I had to research multiple web-sites to fill in the blanks, to answer the questions that this film left behind. When you are trying to convey complex scenarios with limited dialog, the camera becomes more vital to tell propel the story and the burden on the actor's abilities become's crucial. This is where, IMO, the film lacks cohesiveness and purpose. I wanted to know more about both of our protagonists, Coco and Igor, but I got little information, leaving me to use my imagination, when I wanted facts instead. I never new "Rite" had so many re-writes over so many years, I never knew of the affair, I knew of the controversy behind the the music but I had been taught early performances caused riots. What happens to Katarina? The kids? Did they get back together? What were Coco's thoughts about her affair decades later? What drove her to Stravinsky? The "Rite" score seems to just magically be completed but I was eager to learn insights of the creative process and see it develop. To that point, I think they really missed out as "Rite" is the primary music played throughout the film and is used as a phantom character. I like Mikkelsen well enough, but found him to be an odd choice for this role. Coco, portrayed by Anna Mouglalis was sublime and commanding.
Review of Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
