Colette

Colette – nf
***

This film takes place in 19th century France showing differences between the haves and have nots. Colette is a budding author who has an affair with and falls in love and marries Willy, a prominent writer and publisher. Colette happens to be a skillful author herself, and once her husband realizes that he has married a talented writer, he publishes his wife’s novel “Claudine” with his name as the author. The book becomes an acclaimed literary success. Willy reaps the rewards with his wife’s literary accomplishment, which goes on also to be a successful play.

The developing story takes place in upper class French society and there is a clear depiction of the sexuality between men and women as well as between women and women.

This cinematic production is based on real life characters and four novels by the French author Colette published between 1900 – 1904. They were originally written in diary form and describe the growth to maturity of a young girl, Claudine, starting when she was 15.

The significance of this film is not only that it realistically captures French upper-class society with all its splendor, but it also vividly depicts the main characters and their underlying conflicts. It examines the expected roles of the sexes and how strong women were able to challenge these expectations.

The film stars Keira Knightley as Gabrielle Colette and Dominic West as Willy and it was directed by Wash Westmoreland. It was an engaging period piece and a story about a woman who, herself penned stories.

Category: 3 Stars, Drama | Tags: , , , Comment »


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