Thoughts of an ad enthusiast- J’adore Dior-The Film

Poornima Sharma*

“A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.”

Christian Dior.

Released in September 2011, J’adore Dior- The Film attempts to bring this quote to reality. The film shows an utterly gorgeous Charlize Theron, dressed in gold, encapsulate the heritage of Dior as she walks. The Dior woman in the film is confident and sexy and yet, at the same time, broken and vulnerable. She is a woman who thinks outside the box and walks to her own beat. She is modern and a bit of a contradiction. When Charlize Theron walks in a rushed manner up the staircase and hands over her Classic Dior Bag, with the expression of a woman who means business - she represents the modern woman who does mean business! Her walk oozes confidence and power. The film features Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly - women who represent womanhood across phases and times in history. Each have a correlation to womanhood and all embody women who are fearsome and feistier and royal in their own way. The dressing room shot, brings together the women across times who define the Dior woman. And of course, the show stopper moment was Charlize’s walk down the ramp. Dressed to kill in a gold dress… strategically chosen to represent the famous J’adore bottle, she walks as a woman who can’t be stopped, a woman who is feisty and sensuous. The perfume bottle in the end brings a beautiful conclusion that celebrates a woman’s sensuality and curves in the right spirit, something lost in the glamour world where thin is in.

Like any fragrance advertisement, the film is more about style and statements. Filmed inside the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, a favorite spot for Dior apparently, the film is a story of grandeur and royalty. TBWA Paris summoned Jean Jacques Annaud, famous for directing ‘Seven years in Tibet’ and ‘The Name of the Rose’, for directing this film. While the story is more than predictable with a last minute model stealing away the show with her magnetic impact, its Charlize Theron who steals away the limelight indeed! Wise decision at Dior’s end to choose her as its brand ambassador in 2004.

While the film is indeed appealing and engaging, the idea of bringing in Marilyn Monroe reminds me of her predilection for Chanel No.5. Dior and Chanel No.5, huh? Also, the music- Gossip by Heavy Cross talks about undoing what’s already been done. Sounds like a contradiction to the pride a luxury house holds in its heritage. Doesn’t it? While the picture in all is indeed larger than life and dreamlike, the underlying attempts to say something are still misty to me. That said, won’t it be misty if it has Charlize Theron in it? 

*Views are personal.