Female empowerment, 100 years ago, at heart of ‘Colette’
“COLETTE” is not your usual period drama.
Beneath the corsets and petticoats lies a turn- of-the-20thcentury real life tale of feminism and gender politics that is just as relevant today, the fi lm makers say.
“Colette”, opened in US movie theatres on Friday, tells the story of French novelist Sidonie- Gabrielle Colette ( Keira Knightley) who marries charming older writer Henry “Willy” Gauthier-Villars ( Dominic West) and moves from rural France to Paris.
Under pressure, she agrees to ghostwrite for her husband what turns out to be a best- selling novel. She later fi ghts him over creative ownership of the book, divorces him and embarks on a shocking gay love affair with androgynous artiste Mathilde “Missy” de Morny.
Knightley, whose previous historical movies include “Pride & Prejudice” and “The Duchess,” said she was taken aback by how current the “Colette” script felt.
“The conversations we are having in the fi lm about gender politics and sexual politics about feminism are still exactly what we are having today,” the British actress told Reuters.
“There’s something kind of tragic that a hundred years later we’re still talking about this and we still haven’t fi gured it out,” she added.
As well as depicting Colette’s fight for independence, the movie portrays her as a pioneer of a new gender landscape.
Her relationship with Missy, detailed in Colette’s writings and featured in the fi lm, exploded when the two shared a kiss onstage in 1907 during a show at the Moulin Rouge in Paris that prompted police to end the performance and nearly started a riot.
“This was a time before any of the words lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual were in common usage,” said director Wash Westmoreland.
Knightley said she enjoyed playing a woman who lived her life the way she wanted to.
“It’s the story of a woman who’s fi nding her voice, who’s fi nding her true self, and allowing herself to live courageously,” Knightley said.
“I think that she’s a maverick, and that’s always exciting to
play.” — Reuters