Couture review: Angelina Jolie shines in compelling fashion drama
I’m so glad that Angelina Jolie is making movies again. After a hiatus, she made a major acting comeback with a sensational turn in 2024’s Maria (which should have been Oscar-nominated) and has now followed it up with Alice Winocour‘s drama Couture.
The film follows three women during Paris Fashion Week. First, there is American director Maxine Walker (Jolie), who is hired to direct a short film that will open a brand’s runway presentation. This is the high point of the indie horror director’s professional career so far, but it comes at the same time as the lowest point of personal life, as she receives her breast cancer diagnosis while in Paris. Then there is Ada (Anyier Anei), a South Sudanese model making her Fashion Week debut, and make-up artist Angèle (Ella Rumpf), who is trying to become a writer.
I have a casual interest in fashion, so seeing behind-the-scenes of what it takes to put on a catwalk show, from making the clothes, casting the models, creating the multimedia elements, etc, is fascinating, and the climactic presentation is dramatic, unexpected and brilliantly shot. Winocour had the support of Chanel, and Couture is the first fictional film to be allowed to shoot inside the company’s famed showroom and atelier (the iconic mirrored staircase!), so it’s a must for fashion fans. However, if you know nothing about that world, you will be fine, because it is merely the setting for these women’s stories.
As you can probably tell from the synopsis, Couture favours Maxine’s story more than the other two. It is more substantial story-wise, and Jolie gets significantly more screen time. I liked the idea of seeing Fashion Week from three different perspectives, but it is mostly Maxine’s story, with occasional diversions to check in with Ada, who is completely new to the scene and our eyes into the fashion world. Angèle has a small plotline of her own, but she primarily pops up in other people’s stories.
But this makes sense as Maxine’s story is the most compelling. It makes you wonder what you would do when faced with a devastating health diagnosis, especially when you don’t have the time to take a break from work. The role hits close to home for Jolie – her mother died of breast and ovarian cancer, and she underwent a double mastectomy after discovering she had a high genetic risk for them – and channels that emotion into her subtle, understated performance. She also learned French for the role and speaks it convincingly for a lot of the film, opposite well-known French actors like Vincent Lindon and Louis Garrel.
I wasn’t fully satisfied by the narrative, but I really dug this film and wish Jolie got more credit for her performance.
On digital platforms from Monday 20th April