Period Drama: Colette

Keira Knightley stars in this biographical drama about french novelist and icon Colette during her burgeoning years as a writer.

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What It's About:

Before she was famed Parisian writer Colette, she was simply Sidonie-Gabrielle. Upon her marriage to famous author "Willy," she moves from her quiet country life to the big city, and helps her husband with his correspondence. Eventually, amidst financial troubles, in order to increase Willy's literary output, Colette becomes one of of his numerous ghost writers. Yet no one could have predicted the magnitude of her invisible success. But there comes a time when Colette is no longer content being invisible.

Why You'll Love It:

• Keira Knightley is as fantastic as always. These types of roles are what suit her perfectly as an actress, and she definitely doesn't disappoint. If you have loved seeing her in The Duchess, Pride and Prejudice, or any number of her period drama films (and some others as well), then you'll want to check this out for sure.
• If you love a good feminism story as much as I do, definitely watch this one. It really points out the strength of Colette and what she dealt with, and the inequalities of men and women when she was writing. It doesn't feel preachy or that she should be prized above all else, but it really makes you feel proud to know she existed and laboured and did such brilliant work - even if unfortunately she didn't often get the recognition she deserved.
• It's comfortable period drama. It doesn't have crazy language or highly odd customs in it that will feel inaccessible. Yes, there are a few things, but if you haven't really enjoyed period dramas in the past (or would like to try your first one), this is a decent place to start/start anew. For those who adore period dramas, have no fear, you'll enjoy it too. 

Why You Might Want To Skip It:

• No one has a French accent. If it bothers you to watch movies where actors are supposed to be in another country, but have their own accents, avoid this. No one has a French accent who isn't French, and there are only a couple of people in the movie who put on accents at all. This might especially bother you since Colette is a French icon.
• Questionable morality and sex. So, teeny spoiler here, but let's just say that there are affairs left, right, and centre. There are a few sex scenes, and a bit of nudity, but it's basically just one section of the movie that can be skipped past if necessary. It's sort of just enough to give it an R rating, but not really an issue for most modern day audiences unless you particularly dislike this sort of content.
• In order to try to cover a significant period of Colette's life, there are some time jumps. Sometimes it feels as though we are in the middle of a storyline, but then we jump to a new time period, which can disrupt the flow a bit and unfortunately makes you feel a bit less invested in the current time period (when you want to be back in the previous one).
• I would really have loved to have this detail more of her life. I understand why they couldn't fit it in, but I think the movie would have benefited from a slight pacing change in a few areas in order to fit more content in.

Final Thoughts

This is the kind of movie I like on a regular basis. It doesn't feel like it tries too hard, doesn't make you think too in-depth, but still effectively displays its point. There isn't an excessive amount of action or plot, but it definitely isn't boring. There are still several things going on, but the pacing of it is intelligently done. For the most part, it is relatively mild in a lot of ways, but given the fascinating subject matter, it doesn't need a lot of crazy movie antics. I could easily have watched it for twice the length without noticing, and would have appreciated if the added length provided more development into some plot elements and character interactions, such as how Colette and her husband fell in love. My only true complaint then, was that it was shorter than I would have liked, coming in at a mere 1h 51.