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Last night watched the three hour movie (Lifetime Channel) about Coco Chanel, hyped to star Shirley McLain. Actually, she didn't show up in the movie much. The actress playing the young Chanel, Barbora Bobulova was onscreen most of the time.
The movie was done in flashbacks. Chanel and her sister were placed in an orphanage by their father after their mother died, and he never returned to get them. Chanel got a job sewing for a dressmaker. A man in uniform came in and eventually invited her to live with him at his estate, with maids, butlers, the whole megilla.
She was his mistress but he refused to introduce her to his mother. The best friend of her benefactor, nicknamed "Boy" fell in love with her. He was the one who footed the bill when she wanted to open a millinery shop, and later a dressmaker's shop. He told her "You provide the talent, I'll provide the money."
The fake accents I hated. Either do it straight in English, or do it in French with subtitles. And the young Chanel had brown eyes--the older McLain version had blue eyes. And I never understood what was the fate of Chanel's sister in the orphanage, or what happened to the first lover. It is a fascinating story, and would have been great as a real biography instead of focusing on the love story so much.
But Chanel's suits, as shown in her collection at the end of the show, are timeless and tasteful.. I love that look. Too bad the film makers shoft shrifted a great chunk of her life. Now I'm dying to read her biography. susil
