Colette

A showcase for Keira Knightley which unfortunately may get lost within another crowded Oscar season, although her lost was perhaps more due to the material not living up to its potential and Knightley’s capabilities. Mademoiselle Colette was a fascinating historical character that led an interesting life but yet in this biopic by Wash Westmoreland she appeared to be an extraordinary intelligent lady that lacked agency in own her life. As a character, she was passive, constantly reactive to the people and the circumstances around her. She seemed more like an agent of the times rather than the trailblazer that she was. In addition, Dominic West was miscast as her first husband. Not only did West and Knightley lacked chemistry, he looked way too old for her. In real life, their age gap was only 13 years - not 30. Luckily, we had Knightley who gave one of her best performance since 2007’s “The Atonement”. She has beautiful, expressive eyes that effectively captured the haughty, naughty, and fiercely intelligent nature of Colette. It was easy to see why most characters fall in love with her and figured out the secret when they see her and West together (but, for goodness sake, stop having all the characters say it out loud. Repetitively). At just under 2 hours, Knightley shone brightly and we learn a bit more about Mademoiselle Colette, but if only the screenplay could have risen up to meet the high bar that Knightley undoubtedly could cross and allowed us into the mind and heart of the author beyond just the surface.