Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Colette” Demonstrates Women’s Empowerment At Its Best

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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.

I loved this movie. It was powerful, rebellious and honest! It is based on a true story about a young woman named Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette who is from a small country town in France. She marries an older, well-known publisher named Willy (Dominic West) and after moving with him to Paris, he introduces her to the affluent society of artists.

Gabrielle soon finds out that Willy is not an honest or loyal man but merely living off an image he created. Willy coerces her to ghostwrite for his next novel where she uses her own childhood experiences to invent the main character she called Claudine. It becomes a huge success and Willy is praised for the work throughout France. As the Claudine novel becomes legendary, Willy capitalizes off of it and creates a whole empire of Claudine stories and memorabilia that is an instant sensation.

Gabrielle, tired of being the housewife who has no money, voice, or power in her relationship, decides to create similar freedom of her own. She begins to engage in open affairs with different women and when she finally decides to leave Willy, she begins to write and perform her own plays that include kissing women and being topless, a scandal for that era. She finally writes her own novels going only by the name Colette. This is an amazing story of strong will, determination, and courage. Very inspiring!

In select theaters September 28th

 

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Malika Harris

Malika is a Writer from NYC who loves movies and talking about them.