Colette

Colette is a 2018 biographical drama film directed by Wash Westmoreland, from a screenplay by Westmoreland, Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Richard Glatzer, based upon the life of the French novelist Colette. It stars Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Denise Gough. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018. It was released in the United States on September 21, 2018, by Bleecker Street and 30West. The film premiered in London at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2019, by Lionsgate. Plot Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is a young woman from the rural Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye at the end of the 19th century, who begins an affair with Willy. Willy eventually brings Colette to Paris as his bride, with socialites expressing surprise a libertine like him would marry. Willy refers to himself as a "literary entrepreneur", employing a number of ghostwriters to write articles. However, he finds the limited output does not bring in enough revenue to cover his expenses, due to his expensive lifestyle entertaining socialites. He commissions one ghostwriter to work on a novel while Colette manages his correspondence. One day, Colette finds Willy with a prostitute, leading to a separation. He eventually persuades her to return, promising honesty. Colette also tells him of her days as a schoolgirl. With Willy increasingly unable to pay his writers, he asks Colette to write a novel based on her school stories. She completes a draft of Claudine à l'école, which Willy rejects for lacking plot. Years later, some of Willy's furniture is repossessed, and he stumbles on the draft. He suggests revisions and the novel is submitted and published under Willy's byline. Claudine à l'école becomes a bestseller, particularly attracting a female readership. Faced with his first true hit, Willy tells his publisher a sequel is coming, purchases a country house, and locks Colette in a room there to force her to write. Initially objecting, Colette writes Claudine à Paris, which becomes another bestseller.