Working in both the fashion and film industry requires adhering to certain standards and practices that may seem unnecessary at best and demeaning at worst. Only after achieving significant prominence is it possible to operate with some degree of freedom, and even then, it’s hard to predict the surprises life throws at you. Couture looks at three women in adjacent fields all at different points in their careers, each doing their best to control what they can as those around them and life itself throw them unanticipated curveballs.
Maxine (Angelina Jolie) arrives in Paris to shoot her latest film, which will serve to launch a fashion show. Her French is excellent and she has a dependable crew, but the tone of her doctor’s voice when he calls to discuss test results is not promising. Angèle (Ella Rumpf) is an experienced makeup artist, but her schedule is not at all her own and she’s trying to find time to finish the book she’s writing. Ada (Anyier Anei) has freshly arrived from Kenya, unaware of the extent of this new modeling and acting job, a considerable shift from the pharmacist career for which she was prepping. As the show approaches, all three women are forced to confront the imperfections of their realities.
Alice Winocour, whose past projects include Mustang and Paris Memories, is a regular at TIFF, returning with her latest film, which is mostly in French with the occasional English used by its bilingual characters. This story really is one that gives equal time to all three of its protagonists, not emphasizing Jolie’s star turn over the others and merely adjusting the focus based on the area of work each occupies and where they are in life in terms of both family and ambition. They do share scenes, usually not all together, and while others put pressure on them and seem unwilling to take a moment to understand what they’re going through, the way in which they interact is warm and positive, seeing each other as women and assuming only the best.
Last year, Julie was at TIFF as director of Without Blood and started out as a presumed Oscar contender early on for Maria, which ultimately didn’t pan out despite her being deserving of acclaim. After undertaking that transformative role, Maxine feels very dressed down, appearing as any average person would and treated with a decent level of respect but no particular reverence by colleagues and underlings. Jolie’s performance is understated and disarming, powerfully showing how she inhabits a contradictory space between commanding authority and possessing little real autonomy.
Rumpf poignantly conveys how Angèle is a committed professional but has also reached a point where she has too much going on and isn’t able to ensure any one job or appointment doesn’t run into the next. It’s clear that she both loves doing makeup and has different dreams, and it will certainly be challenging to succeed in both arenas without prioritizing one. In her first film role, Anei is the most reserved of the three actresses but says just as much with a quiet performance, tapping into how Ada has no expectations and is trying to simply take things in, even though those around her doubt that she truly is so pure and well-intentioned.
This film contains many wardrobe changes, with the outfits serving as minor plot pieces. Hearing the models talk about feeling like cadavers after working for hours straight is definitely resonant, and the experience of watching this film is enhanced by its costumes and set pieces. While its exploration of these three women’s lives is indeed engrossing, the film doesn’t seem to have an endpoint in mind, certain of what’s worth showcasing along the way but without a specific destination or deliberate place to wrap things up.
Movie Rating: 7/10
