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Beneath the corsets and petticoats lies a
turn-of-the-20th- century real life tale of feminism and gender
politics that is just as relevant today, the film makers say.
"Colette," opening in U.S. movie theaters 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 fights him over
creative ownership of the book, divorces him and embarks on a
shocking gay love affair with androgynous artist 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 film 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 figured 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 film, 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 finding her voice, who's
finding 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."
(Reporting by Gina Cherelus and Rollo Ross, editing by Jill
Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)
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