Reviews

This is rather plodding and very incomplete attempt to capture the life of Coco Chanel. If you enjoy seeing her hobnob with the lesser known idle French aristocrats you may like it. I have to agree with other comments here that film makers always seem to avoid a discussion of her collaboration with the Nazis in WWII, something which caused her to leave France for nine years after the war. The closing summary of the film lauds her for her contributions to the fashion world without mentioning her shameful actions in WWII. Even recent "documentaries" about her seem to dodge the subject also. But it is well documented indeed. They should have given us a balanced, warts and all treatment. See the London Times article of April 4, 2009 "Chanel and the Nazis". This excerpt is particularly relevant: "Perhaps Chanel-lovers also have no idea that she tried to wrest control of her perfume manufacturing from a Jewish family, taking advantage of pro-Aryan laws. Or that she was arrested for war crimes - and then mysteriously released. Previously, I'd seen it mentioned that Chanel had survived the war rather comfortably at the Paris Ritz in the arms of a Nazi officer, Hans Gunther von Dincklage, and then gone into exile in Switzerland with him, but a few hours spent in the library revealed that she was far more deeply involved with the Germans than that. There was even a (somewhat ridiculous) Nazi plot, using Chanel as bait, called "Operation Modelhut"." (From Chanel & the Nazis" by Kate Muir, London Times, April 4, 2009.

What exactly was the point? For the first hour it didn't seem so bad and it made me wonder why the critics panned it. But it went downhill fast after that and became so far fetched it must have tested all the actors' skill to do this one with a straight face. Steve Martin needs to stick to comedy,and Helena Bonham Carter should get back in her corset, we've seen enough of her. A talented cast was wasted on this. The ending made me wonder if this wasn't just an attempt to spoof film noir. If so, they should not have packaged it as a comedy. No one seems sure of the genre, it's often listed as a comedy and a drama..(?) Films which try to mix genres often fail in my opinion. The audience is left confused and disappointed...

Powerful performances all around in this tale of a family's struggle to escape the Greek Civil War after World War II. Based on a true story, and with a powerful performance by Kate Nelligan as the title character. John Malkovich does not disappoint as her son who seeks to avenge his mother's execution. Oscar winner Linda Hunt also gives a fine supporting performance. A gripping, suspenseful mystery!