Becoming Colette

Becoming Colette is a 1991 German-British-French biographical drama film written by Ruth Graham, directed by Danny Huston and starring Klaus Maria Brandauer and Mathilda May as Henry Gauthier-Villars and Colette respectively. It was originally entitled Colette.^[1]

Becoming Colette
German	Colette
French	Devenir Colette[1]
Directed by	Danny Huston
Written by	Ruth Graham
Produced by	Heinz J. Bibo Peer J. Oppenheimer
Starring	Klaus Maria Brandauer Mathilda May Virginia Madsen
Cinematography	Wolfgang Treu
Edited by	Peter Taylor Roberto Silvi
Music by	John Scott
Production companies	BIBO Films BC Productions Les Films Ariane
Release dates	October 17, 1991 (1991-10-17) (Germany) July 1, 1992 (1992-07-01) (France) November 6, 1992 (1992-11-06) (New York City)
Running time	97 minutes
Countries	Germany United Kingdom France
Language	English

Plot

During one of her avant-garde theater performances, Colette notices that her ex-husband, Willy Gauthier-Villars, is in the audience, prompting her to reminisce about her development from ingenue in rural Burgundy to novelist in Paris. It follows Colette's life in her twenties and thirties, her marriage to libertine Willy, her relationship with the younger yet well-experienced actress Polaire, and the publication of her first novels under Willy's name.

Caricature of Willy, Colette and Polaire by illustrator Sem (c.1910)

Cast

• Klaus Maria Brandauer as Henry Gauthier-Villars
• Mathilda May as Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
• Virginia Madsen as Polaire
• Paul Rhys as Chapo
• John van Dreelen as Albert
• Jean-Pierre Aumont as Captain
• Lucienne Hamon as Sido
• Georg Tryphon as Creditor

Production

The shooting was marked by the violence of Klaus Maria Brandauer towards Mathilda May, without intervention of the film crew to protect her.^[2]

Release

The film was released in New York City on November 6, 1992.^[3]

Reception

Joe Leydon of Variety gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Not even a twinkly eyed, scene-stealing turn by Klaus Maria Brandauer is enough to enliven Danny Huston's Becoming Colette ..."^[4]

Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times also gave the film a negative review and wrote, "The film, which was directed by Danny Huston and scripted by Ruth Graham, has an airless, disembodied quality—not exactly what one wants from a movie about a sensualist of genius."^[5]

Rita Kempley of The Washington Post also gave the film a negative review, describing it as "negligible".^[6]