Review // Yves Saint Laurent

Even a fashion layman like myself has heard the name Yves Saint Laurent. He was a towering figure in the industry, who revolutionized haute couture and dressed ladies in tuxedo pants. He was also a bit of a jerk…at least that’s what I’ve been led to believe by Jalil Lespert’s biopic.

At the beginning of the film we are introduced to Pierre Bergé (or rather, Bergé introduces himself to us), Saint Laurent’s business manager and life partner. A refined older man, Bergé (Guillaume Gallienne) is overseeing the boxing-up of the couple’s art collection to be auctioned off at Christie’s. It’s a lifetime’s worth of excess suddenly illuminated by the death of it’s owner. As he watches the parade of memories carted out the door, Bergé renders the same treatment on Saint Laurent’s life.

The film follows the French designer from his early days working under Christian Dior, to his conscription into the French army during the Algerian War of Independence, to his mental breakdown and his eventual rise from the ashes into the rarified air of the fashion elite. It’s a strange and storied life brought to the screen with style and conviction by Lespert. And the director clearly makes the same case for fashion-as-high-art as his subject did, portraying the industry as cut-throat and competitive, but also quick to recognize the brilliant and unique. He lingers on the runway shots of Saint Laurent’s most famous collections, but seems nervous about delving too deep into the fashion side of things. Instead he opts to focus on Saint Laurent’s personal life.

The film mainly hinges on the implied assumption that Yves Saint Laurent is a very important person who everyone knows and cares about.

Unfortunately it’s not overly interesting. Since the film picks up with Laurent when he is already a designer working under Christian Dior, we see little of his hard-work or exertion. We’re told that he struggled under the rigidity and tradition at Dior, but for the less fashion-literate, we’re never really shown what this means. His greatest hurdle comes early, as he is forced into the French military only to crumble under the pressure. It’s perhaps the defining struggle of his early life, yet’s it’s largely played off camera. This makes it hard to empathize with the character because we’re not shown his struggles.

Instead we’re treated to long stretches highlighting Saint Laurent’s drugged out sexual exploits. While it makes for a provocative visual experience, watching someone self-destruct isn’t much good if we’re not given a reason to care. The film mainly hinges on the implied assumption that Yves Saint Laurent is a very important person who everyone knows and cares about. While that’s probably true enough for many people, if you watched the film not knowing anything about him you would come away thinking he was a bit of a spoiled dolt.

That’s not to take anything away from Pierre Niney’s portrayal of the man. The actor certainly looks the part and fills the character with awkward eccentricities, but it may suffer from simply being too darn honest. In contrast Guillaume Gallienne is effortlessly likeable as the steady, able Bergé, and almost becomes the film’s focus as evidence mounts that he is the true brains behind the Saint Laurent empire. Montreal native Charlotte Le Bon is the other stand-out, playing Saint Laurent’s early muse Victoire Doutreleau, but she is sadly dropped too early in the film.

Lespert’s film is at it’s best when it’s thrilling in the creation of works of fashion. The highlight is a scene in which Saint Laurent is suddenly inspired by a painting by Pierre Mondrian. In a quick succession we watch as the germ of an idea grows from sketches into fabrics, fabrics into dresses. In this moment we’re given context, and then the design is able to speak for itself. Unfortunately these moments are far too sparse. I never thought I’d say this, but I wanted more fashion!

Reviewed by Evan Arppe.

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