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IMDbPro

Colette

  • 20182018
  • RR
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
23K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,046
326
Keira Knightley in Colette (2018)
Trailer 3
Play trailer2:29
13 Videos
95 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
Colette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.Colette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.Colette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
23K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,046
326
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Wash Westmoreland
    • Writers
      • Richard Glatzer(screenplay by)
      • Wash Westmoreland(screenplay by)
      • Rebecca Lenkiewicz(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Keira Knightley
      • Fiona Shaw
      • Dominic West
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Wash Westmoreland
    • Writers
      • Richard Glatzer(screenplay by)
      • Wash Westmoreland(screenplay by)
      • Rebecca Lenkiewicz(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Keira Knightley
      • Fiona Shaw
      • Dominic West
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 149User reviews
    • 196Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 11 nominations

    Videos13

    Colette
    Trailer 2:29
    Colette
    Colette
    Trailer 1:29
    Colette
    Colette
    Trailer 2:32
    Colette
    Colette - Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:28
    Colette - Trailer #2
    "Colette" Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    "Colette" Trailer
    Subtle As Ever Rev
    Clip 1:09
    Subtle As Ever Rev
    Claudine
    Clip 1:05
    Claudine
    The Toast Of Paris
    Clip 1:16
    The Toast Of Paris
    You Could Write
    Clip 0:59
    You Could Write
    Am I Trembling
    Clip 0:33
    Am I Trembling
    "You Could Write" - Clip #1
    Clip 0:59
    "You Could Write" - Clip #1
    Featurette
    Featurette 2:17
    Featurette

    Photos95

    Keira Knightley, Dominic West, and Denise Gough in Colette (2018)
    Keira Knightley and Dominic West in Colette (2018)
    Keira Knightley and Dickie Beau in Colette (2018)
    Eleanor Tomlinson in Colette (2018)
    Dominic West in Colette (2018)
    Keira Knightley, Wash Westmoreland, and Eleanor Tomlinson in Colette (2018)
    Keira Knightley and Dominic West in Colette (2018)
    Denise Gough in Colette (2018)
    Keira Knightley in Colette (2018)
    Aiysha Hart at an event for Colette (2018)
    Colette (2018)
    Colette (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Keira Knightley
    Keira Knightley
    • Colette
    Fiona Shaw
    Fiona Shaw
    • Sido
    Dominic West
    Dominic West
    • Willy
    Robert Pugh
    Robert Pugh
    • Jules
    Sloan Thompson
    • Matilde
    Arabella Weir
    Arabella Weir
    • Mme. de Caillavet
    Máté Haumann
    Máté Haumann
    • Count Muffat
    Ray Panthaki
    Ray Panthaki
    • Veber
    Al Weaver
    Al Weaver
    • Schwob
    Virág Bárány
    Virág Bárány
    • Lotte Kinceler
    Dickie Beau
    Dickie Beau
    • Wague
    Kylie Watt
    • Opera Singer
    Janine Harouni
    Janine Harouni
    • Jeanne de Caillavet
    Jake Graf
    Jake Graf
    • Gaston de Caillavet
    Joe Geary
    • Bailiff
    Rebecca Root
    Rebecca Root
    • Rachilde
    Julian Wadham
    Julian Wadham
    • Ollendorff
    Eleanor Tomlinson
    Eleanor Tomlinson
    • Georgie Raoul-Duval
    • Director
      • Wash Westmoreland
    • Writers
      • Richard Glatzer(screenplay by) (story by)
      • Wash Westmoreland(screenplay by)
      • Rebecca Lenkiewicz(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The location shoot in Budapest was so warm at times, Dominic West wore a water vest inside his heavy costume that functioned like a car radiator, circulating cool water around his upper body. The contraption was recommended to him by John C. Reilly who used such an apparatus while playing the rotund Oliver Hardy in the biopic Stan & Ollie (2018).
    • Goofs
      In the dance studio scene, which takes place in 1904, a pianist is seen playing Golliwog's Cake-walk by Claude Debussy (repeated by orchestra in the soundtrack). The piece was not composed until 1909.
    • Quotes

      Colette: My name is Gabrielle Colette and the hand that holds the pen writes history.

    • Crazy credits
      There is a dedication to Richard Glatzer, who co-wrote the film's screenplay with Wash Westmoreland, shortly before the closing credits: "For Richard".
    • Connections
      Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Maya Rudolph/Fred Armisen/Dominic West (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Down by the Salley Gardens
      Written by William Butler Yeats and Herbert Hughes

      Performed by Kylie Watt

    User reviews149

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    "The hand that holds the pen writes history".
    Colette is yet another tale of female empowerment: a woman with real talent trying to break out of the gilded cage she finds herself trapped in.

    This is a true story, set in Paris in the late 19th Century. Colette (Keira Knightley), a beautiful country girl living in Burgundy is seduced by and then married to the much older Parisian 'literary entrepreneur' Willy (Dominic West). Willy is a "brand" in Paris: a well-known critic turned author. The only problem being that he does virtually no writing of his own but ghosts work out to his team. Colette exhibits a gift for writing slightly lascivious tales of her life (under the pseudonym Claudine) at her girl's school, where clearly nighttime swimming lessons taught more than back stroke! As a result, Willy fills a financial hole by publishing Colette's work in his name. The books fly off the shelves faster than the publishers can print them. But Willy has expensive habits and Colette gets locked into writing an ever-popular series but without a voice of her own.

    If the "swinging 60's" started anywhere, it was probably in Paris during this time period! While Victorian England was staid and conservative, Paris - home of the Moulin Rouge - was a hot-bed of liberation. As a result, Colette and Willy's marital affairs are - erm - sexually 'fluid'. While Colette has to learn to live with her philandering 'Free Willy', he positively encourages the bi-sexual Colette to explore the other camp, as it were.

    Keira Knightley turns in a truly cracking performance in the titular lead. No-one does 'brooding' better than Knightley, and she gets ample chance here to exercise that look, most notably in a train scene near the end of the film: if looks could kill.

    Dominic West delivers as reliably a solid performance as you would expect from him, but he is such a despicable and loathsome character that it is difficult to warm to him.

    Driving me mad (not sexually you understand.... although...) was the girl playing the American double-dip love interest Georgie: I knew her so well but just couldn't place her. It was the American accent that threw me: she is of course Eleanor Tomlinson, Demelza from TV's "Poldark", here showing a lot more flesh than she can get away with on a Sunday night on BBC1!

    The film is obviously in English about one of France's literary greats (although curiously Colette writes in French). My guess is that the film will go down like a lead balloon in France as a result. A part of me would have liked this to be French language with subtitles, but maybe that's just me.

    When you look at it objectively, Colette's story is quite remarkable: what a clever and determined woman.

    Aside from Knightley, the other star turn in the film comes from cinematographer Giles Nuttgens (who also did "Hell or High Water"). The scenes, particularly the bucolic ones set in the French countryside, are simply gorgeously photographed. The framing of the shots is also exquisite with an impressive shot of the slog up a spiral staircase to the couple's flat being repeatedly used.

    It remains curious to me how prudish both the UK and the US are still about sex on screen. In the UK the film is a 15 certificate; in the US the film is R-rated! Yes, there are some breasts on show, and a few mixed- and same-sex couplings (particularly during a frenetic 5 minute period in the middle of the film!), but they are artfully done and you don't get to see much more than the breasts. In comparison, the violence that would get meted out during a 15/R action thriller would typically makes my eyes water.

    This is one of those films that is worthy, beautifully done, well acted but for some reason it felt to me like a bit of a slog. At 111 minutes it certainly felt a lot longer than it was. The middle reel of the film in particular is rather pedestrian (and yes, I recognise the irony of the fact that I just said there was the frenetic 5 minutes of sex during that part!). Maybe on the night I was just not in the mood for this type of film.

    The director is Englishman Wash Westmoreland, whose last film back in 2014 was the impressive "Still Alice".

    I'm glad I've seen it, and it is a lot better than many films I saw last year. But in terms of my "re-watchability" quotient, its not going to rate that highly.

    (For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).
    helpful•83
    10
    • bob-the-movie-man
    • Jan 4, 2019

    FAQ1

    • Exactly why were Colette and Missy booed from the stage? I thought Paris was supposed to be wild and free thinking !

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 9, 2019 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Hungary
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Колетт
    • Filming locations
      • Budapest, Hungary
    • Production companies
      • Number 9 Films
      • Killer Films
      • Bold Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,137,622
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $161,179
      • Sep 23, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $14,273,033
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 51 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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