Director Wash Westmoreland's (Still Alice) Colette presents Englishwoman Keira Knightley as Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, a French country girl whose literary gifts impressed all of 19th Century Paris.
Of course, 19th Century Parisians think her "Claudine" novels are written by Henry Gauthier-Villars (Englishman Dominic West), known in the literary community as "Willy," and presented onscreen with an insufferable series of scenes that each remind you what a bad man he is.
It's unfortunate that this film was released after The Wife, one of the year's best films with the same story — too.
Colette was a pioneer in women’s rights, an author who shocked readers with her Claudine novels, penned the popular Gigi and was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature in 1954. This flawed film, considerably enhanced by 2018 hindsight, should have done more justice to her. It should have been every bit as good as The Wife.
In a nutshell: Keira Knightly's radiant personality portrays Collette's sparkling intellect onscreen and she's delightful to watch. However, the full film experience pales to The Wife, released a month prior.
Award potential: Never count out Keira, but this might be the year to overlook her and this film as Best Picture. British opera composer Thomas Adès' score and Andrea Fleshch's costumes should find their way to Oscar nominations. Giles Nuttgens' gorgeous cinematography is a possible nomination, but I'd call it a long shot.
The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks.
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