Coco Chanel

Tonight Lifetime premiered its movie chronicling the life of influential designer Coco Chanel. The movie did what I wanted from it by giving viewers an inside look at the life of this couturier, however I was left wanting something more. I'm sure, in order to maintain the demographic, Lifetime chose to spend more time developing romantic relations, than focusing on the career. While romance is fun to watch, I would have rather watched a movie chronicling the life of a designer, not a Nicholas Sparks-esque flick. Granted, the romantic thread throughout the movie did lend itself to present her designs differently than I expected, I would have rather watched a movie which described to me how Coco developed her aesthetic and the iconic image for women which is still present today, 35+ years after her death, in her clothing. Once a man was introduced to the plot, it took a half hour or so until designs took the stage again. If I were to watch this movie at the Starplex Theaters, I would be happy, but on Lifetime and after being advertised as an artistic film, I was disappointed.

Although the movie let me down, there was one particular plot that intrigued me and made me feel like I sat through three hours with a purpose. When Shirley MacLane described how she designed the little black dress, a staple in any young fashionista's closet, I had a sense of Coco Chanel and what she wanted to create with her designs. I expected more of that when I flipped over to the movie. I had envisioned learning a bit about Chanel's designs and how they became what we see today. I liked learning about how she flourished into what we now knew her to be, I liked watching a young Coco grow up, learning how she acquire the name Coco. These things kept me affixed to my TV, these things answered the questions I had before I turned the movie on. I just wished more of these similar questions had been answered.

Watch the movie, create your own opinions and then comment here.