“Colette” is a lovingly constructed look back at the female French author known as Colette. She was quite a liberated lady for a country girl who had married a famous author who had taken her to the City of Lights. Her much-older husband was quite a bounder and a cad, who always spent more than he took in. Be he saw great talent in Colette and eventually brought out the artist within her. At the turn of the prior century, Colette and her exploits kept the Paris scandal sheets full of juicy gossip. Her husband took credit for all of Colette’s writing, and it took everything in her power to get that changed.
Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) was a curious school-girl at a small country village in France when she first met Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West). He became very famous using his pen name Willy, and has a large group of writers creating content and publishing in his name. Willy marries the much younger Colette, and they move to his place in Paris. Colette is astonished by the hubbub of activity and constant noise of the city. She attends the lavish parties that Willy brings her to, and she is entranced by some of the talented people. But just as many are non-talented gossip-mongers. Colette has no time for them.
Willy finally sees that Colette has a flair for writing, and he encourges her to produce a short book. It is published, of course under the byline of ‘Willy’. Colette’s story of a country schoolgirl named Claudine is an overnight success, but it is very scandalous for that time. Suddenly, Willy is again the talk of the town. Colette knows that the real brains behind ‘Claudine’ is not Willy.
But she also knows that the 1890’s society would frown upon a female author getting a huge book released under her own name. Willy and Colette are soon invited into the upper-crust of the Paris culture. They meet an American heiress living in Paris named Georgie Raoul-Duval (Eleanor Tomlinson). Colette finds herself drawn into a forbidden love affair with Georgie, but soon she finds that Willy is also secretly dipping in that same inkwell…
Soon more ‘Claudine’ books are published and the book sales break records, and Willy becomes an even more pompous ass. Colette sees that her relationship with Willy is fading, and she finds a new love. The new ‘man’ in her life is Mathilde de Morny, of noble birth and lineage. Known as Missy (Denise Gough) is a manish-looking woman who is more at home in trousers and a crisp men’s shirt and vest. She would be frowned upon and shunned by the Paris society, except for the fact of her royal blood and wealth. Colette and Missy become inseparable, and Willy is upset that Colette has no interest in writing. Instead Colette and Missy study acting and then try out the new art of pantomime. Willy has entered the world of stage, also. He has a play created from the ‘Claudine’ books and it is a big hit. He backs a new production at the Moulin Rouge for Colette and Missy, but it backfires on them.
Colette becomes more involved with acting and with stagecraft. She and Missy travel all over Europe. Willy fades from her view and he tries to prevent her from claiming her rightful status as the creator of ‘Claudine’. After a long period of performing, Colette takes down all of her thoughts as a book about being a ‘Vagabond’ on the road. She gets it published under her own name and becomes a major author in her own right. She eventually receives the rights for all of her work done on the ‘Claudine’ books, also. She lives a rich and full life, and is remembered now as a writer and as a performer. She even later wrote the book that became the basis of the movie ‘Gigi’…
Keira Knightley is wonderfully cast as the precocious and peppy Colette. She and Dominic West work well as the married ‘power couple’ in the high society of France. She steals the show with her performance, and her bold moves that transition her character are very fascinating. Starting out as a young country girl who turns into a fully liberated woman who is the talk of the town, she makes the character of Colette her very own. Living in that time period, Colette was far advanced in her thoughts and her work. Not to mention her sexual partners…
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