Following up her fantastic period piece work in 2024’s “Maria,” Angelina Jolie does more dramatic acting in this film set in modern times.
In “Couture,” Jolie stars as Maxine, an American indie film director who’s been hired by a French fashion company to helm the intro video for their latest show. It’s a great gig, but while her professional career is taking off, her personal life is facing difficulties. That’s only compounded when she receives a cancer diagnosis from her doctor.
Meanwhile, the audience is also introduced to other women associated with the show. One is Ada (Anyier Anei), a woman from Kenya who was recruited to model for the show and has to adjust to her new life. Another, Angele (Ella Rumpf), is a makeup artist working with the fashion company who’s also writing on her first novel.
“Couture” takes a direction that some might not expect. From the poster to the trailers, and the fact that Jolie headlines the picture, one might figure this is a solo character study about an individual woman. However, this movie, written and directed by Alice Winocour is one that closely follows several women experiencing numerous life events.
The stories of those women are compelling, but the structure of how everything unfolds is ultimately a detriment. Films featuring an ensemble cast living their own lives with only bits of crossover can work, but there has to be a strong narrative throughline and a good flow as the perspective shifts from character A to character B.
That’s something sorely missing from “Couture,” a movie that often feels disjointed for much of its runtime when it comes to the character arcs portrayed. While there are certainly shared themes, each time the movie switches to another figure it feels abrupt. It never seems like the previous scene built to the current one. There needed to be more cohesion.
At the same time, while they’re not always strung together well, there are many good scenes from start to finish. Each main character arc is interesting to follow. Moments with each of the three nicely explore women navigating careers and producing art, as well as concepts around beauty standards and perceptions around the female body.
This is strengthened by the main trio of women being diverse, by class, race and culture. It adds unique dynamics to the paths each lead character is going down. Of course, the issue is because of its structure, it can be difficult to fully absorb and appreciate the impact of each character’s plight.
Still, it remains true that the dramatic scenes, from Ada adjusting to her new job as a model, to Maxine coming to terms with her diagnosis, are often captivating. The film has a very “lived-in” aura. Even though it’s revolving around a major fashion show in a city like Paris, there’s a very grounded, human feel to the movie, making a lot of it relatable.
It definitely helps to have Jolie starring in the movie, too. The Oscar winner is really on point here. It’s not quite on the level of her work in “Maria,” where she was snubbed by the Academy, but her work in “Couture” still shines. She effectively portrays the many stages a person goes through when getting devastating news.
Anei, making her debut as an actress, puts in a committed performance, too, and captures the anxiety a person in her position would have. Rumpf rounds out the cast rather well, hitting the right notes as the struggling artist.
Thanks to its strong acting and impressive presentation of the female experience through three women, “Couture” has plenty of strengths in its favor. At the same time, its story structure and lack of connectivity among its trio causes this it to falter when it comes to the overall experience. Additionally, while often visually engaging, the film’s climax pushes an artistic style that takes away somewhat from the authentically moody vibe. 3.1 out of 5.
Photo courtesy Vertical Entertainment
