Review: Colette

I knew very little about this story. However, I was aware of the titular character and some of the novels she wrote back then.

The marketing seemed to be labelling this as Keira Knightley's Oscar push. So I was expecting Oscar bait or a genuine contender. I feel it is certainly the latter.

Early on, I could was pleasantly surprised to already be laughing at the witty banter and felt I was already in safe hands. After that, all of the positives kept getting gradually elevated whilst also introducing some new aspects. It got raunchy, more dramatic and the performances left their A-game for the highly impactful finale.

It's all about Keira Knightley and Dominic West in terms of the performances. You totally believe Knightley has become Colette and as she develops through the film, you get quite a powerful finale that will surely put her hat into the Oscar ring for Best Leading Actress.
As for Dominic West, it may be his best work. Most people associate him with TV work. But this was a performance worthy of the big screen. He manages to make him feel like a despicable character whilst also having a lot of comedic moments during the many arguments with Knightley's character.
I also have to give props to solid performances from the minor roles played the gorgeous Eleanor Tomlinson, as well as Denise Gough.

I really loved the whole look of it. You are most certainly transported to France just before the 20th century. The way it moved had a solid flow to it and there was never a dull moment to be had. So big congrats to the editing team for pulling that off.
Also, I was surprised to see the score by Thomas Ades play such an integral part. Especially when the story started to turn up a few notches.

My only negatives are for personal reasons. Period dramas can rarely feel refreshing in its structure, and this film certainly played out like a lot of similar films from this era.

But what I think director Wash Westmoreland and his team managed to make it a cut above the rest, was the performances the comforting nature of portraying our main characters flexible sexuality.
I really enjoyed this. The story is really well told, the performances came out of the top draw and Knightley is worthy of being an Oscar contender. I loved the look, how they perfectly mixed raunchiness with comedy and wit in its tone and writing and the dramatic score that went Hitchcockian at times.
The timing of it's release is spot on and this will certainly be heavily-involved come awards season.

Rating: 8/10