Colette

My knowledge of Colette was negligible. unfortunately, so I came to this film with a very open mind. Enjoyed it very much while allowing for the fact that a one-off bio-pic cannot portray the whole of a person's life.I found it compelling and not a little uncomfortable especially when Willy locked her in her room in order to bully her into write - while he lounged about Paris spending the money earned from her writing - on other women and prostitutes, apparently. But she "mustn't blame herself as men are weak and don't follow the same morals as women". Poppycock. He was a weak man - a bully and a manipulator. Or so I found Dominic West's portrayal.Was so glad she finally got out from under Willy's control. Courageous woman.

I say strangely, because as a lifelong admirer of Collette, her life and writing, I really did expect this to be trash.I am not normally an admirer of Keira Knightley as she is such a 'brand'. However, she does pull this off very nicely and despite being more of the gamine than Colette ever was, ( being tiny, muscular and sexy), she is believable in the role. Her voice in particular, ranges from girlish to womanly as the plot progresses and the Gabrielle Sidonie develops into herself, gravitating from the tutelage and suffocating control of the eponymous Willy .I think in real life, Willy was a far more louche and even repulsive character than depicted here, this Willy although coarse, is more attractive. In reality, he was very much a disreputable roue.Good film. Really worth a watch. But do read Colette, that shimmering, sparkling writer!

I was hooked within 5 minutes and didn't look back in disappointment at my hasty purchase,Kiera Knightley convinced me she was indeed Colette and in my humble opinion, it's her most exceptional performance. There were a natural grace and truth to her acting, and I found her compelling to watch due to this. The onscreen relationship between her and Willy (Dominic West) was a brilliant balance between the two actors, and neither stole the others exuberant and captivating performance.This was a film in which I completely understood the characters even if I didn't like them, they were portrayed with a natural sincerity which was refreshing to watch, unlike most period dramas where everything is constrained, serious or pretentious.I would recommend indeed!

Keira Knightly gives a scintillating portrayal of the legendary French storyteller in this award winning biopic which follows her from her rural childhood, through her precocious adolescence, as she is seduced by the notorious Willy, who takes her to the cleaners, publishing her schoolgirl adventures under his own name and pocketing the proceeds. The film froths with lace, gleams with petal-soft skin, heaves with passion and portrays a budding, blossoming rural France as it was when our heroine was a girl, never quite innocent but always utterly charming. A definite must-see.

The film concentrates on a small part of Colette's life and her husband is portrayed as a total misogynist, which he was but the way Colette just put up with it just didn't seem real. I know she was very young when she married, but it just didn't seem real.She had affairs with other women, but this was not well played in this film - almost no emotion at all between them and Colette came over as a cold person only interested in herself. The sex scenes were also pretty tame and the whole advertising of the film was sensationalist. Kiera Knightley does however look stunning in a suit but disappointingly only briefly dons one.The acting was great, but the film left me with more questions than answers and could have been so much better.

This was a well-acted movie with a storyline based on truth.I enjoyed learning more about this period and how difficult it must have been to be a woman who was fiercely independent and creative during that time. Both of the main characters kept intrigued and I thought that the movie was beautifully filmed.She is someone that I will research further and perhaps read her work.

Usually Kiera does amazing movies, hence why I buy them, but this really isn't her type, the movie is poorly written, what you think a good storyline should be present, instead, its all about her Husband visiting prostitutes in the upstairs apartments, which lead to no storyline there either, whilst Kiera waits in apartment at her desk worrying about her Husbands debts, no storyline there either. Gave it my best shot & massive patience waiting for storyline to move, but nothing, turned it off after 40 mins Brain dead! I wouldn't suggest paying for this folks!!

Ignorant of this story prior to watching, so it educated as well as entertained. Afterwards I ended up Googling for more facts and ordering books - so that's probably a good indicator. Best Knightly performance I've seen