Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Overview

It's no coincidence that the words amorous and amoral sit so closely together in the dictionary, and Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky explores this sentiment through the passion of an affair between its two title characters. It opens in 1913, with Coco (Anna Mouglalis) attending the Paris debut of Stravinksy's (Mads Mikkelson) new work The Rite of Spring, one of the most famous instances of audience rioting in the 20th century. The combination of Stravinsky's intensely rhythmic score, primitive aesthetics and choreography expressing a pagan ritual of a young girl dancing herself to death caused outrage amongst the top-hatted patrons, whose fistfights were eventually broken up by police. This scene is captured in perfection by director Jan Kounen, whose balance of fury and elegance is a well-crafted thrill.

It is a shame, then, that the film's peak is also it's opening. From that initial sense of fire and fury, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky cleans itself up as the Russian Revolution takes its toll and Stravinsky flees back to Paris in 1920 with family in tow. Chanel, with ulterior motives hidden in her delicate cloche, invites them to stay at her Garches villa. His children settle in to their new life but his wife, ill with consumption, rightly expresses an immediate desire to leave. A certain tension builds between Chanel and Stravinsky, both strongly independent but controlled by guarded desires.

Mouglalis, it should be noted, is the former face of a Chanel perfume, and one of Karl Lagerfeld's muses, giving the production of the film the intimate detailing of connections. The styling and locations are stunning, but the film itself lacks passion, which is not the usual emotional base of adultery. This is a film that will satiate those who are happy to be swept up in the style of Paris in the '20s, but, akin to Mouglalis's cat-like indifference on screen, there'll be no cause for rioting down the aisles.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0xh719Kzeec