Colette (2018)

Director: Wash Westmoreland
Stars: Keira Knightley, Fiona Shaw, Dominic West
Runtime: 111 minutes

Synopsis: The true story of Colette, a French author forced to publish her novels under her husband's name.

• Performances: 7/10

Why? Not helped by mediocrely written dialogue, Keira Knightley still managed to make her character one I was rooting for the entire time. Her ability to stand up to her onscreen bully of a husband Willy, portrayed by an equally excellent Dominic West, while still looking vulnerable and powerless was remarkably achieved. Had the screenplay provided her with better dialogue, I'm certain she would've guaranteed herself an Oscar nomination.  

• Screenplay: 5/10

Why? Ironically the film's biggest problem in my opinion. While I found the story of Colette a fascinating one that deserves to be given the big screen treatment, I have to say that I was still a bit disappointed with the way it was handled. For starters, the dialogue felt a bit cheesy and uninspired at times, an issue that took away from the film's vital sense of realism. I also found that the movie could've benefited from more subtilty and less unnecessary exposition. But in the end and despite these issues, "Colette" still made me want to research her story and read some of her work, and I'm sure it will have that same effect on anyone interested in her as well.  

• Costumes/Makeup: 9/10

Why? If the movie's getting a nomination at the next Oscars, it'll be in that category. The costumes were extremely well designed and perfectly did the job of both setting the era in which the film takes place as well as defining the characters' personalities.

• Editing: 4/10

Why? Unfortunately, I found a lot of unnecessary scenes to have contributed to the film's lack of subtlety. A good 5 to 10 minutes could've been removed and the movie would've turned out better in my opinion.

• Cinematography: 7/10

Why? Shot by the talented Giles Nuttgens ("Hell or High Water"), the film was nice to look at without ever taking the spotlight from the titular character's story. 

• Score/Soundtrack: 8/10

Why? The excellent score had a positive impact on the film's narrative and setting despite it not feeling very original.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10