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Couture Glasgow Film Festival 2026 review by Pat Byrne

Alice Winocour’s film sees Angelina Jolie starring as Maxine, a filmmaker at Paris Fashion Week to shoot the film which will launch the show. She is on top of her game but working to a very tight schedule; there are a few hitches but she is not too vexed by clashes of opinion within the team. The film will run in parallel with the opening show and is more than a step away from her usual horror genre.  However, the drama in Winocour’s film is more related to Maxine’s personal life, when she is told that she has a serious medical condition requiring urgent treatment – Jolie handles the scenes with the doctor particularly well.

There is more than one storyline running through this film: Anyier Anei is well cast as Ada, a teenager new to the world of high fashion, she has escaped war-torn Sudan and moved to Kenya with her family with the expectation that she will study pharmacy. Tall, slim and beautiful she has been ‘discovered’. Unsure of what the future might hold, Ada’s naivety and inexperience contrasts with the more frivolous and hardened attitudes of some of the other models.

Then there is Angèle (Ella Rumpf), a makeup artist whose ambition it is to become a writer. In much demand and moving from job to job, she has little control over her schedule nor time to write. It’s a lesser but important role through which Winocour adds a different dimension to the film – Angèle is a friendly, caring woman who injects warmth into the fleeting relationships she has with the models whose appearance she brings to perfection.

The film immerses you into a glamorous and hectic world as preparations get underway for this iconic event and Winocour successfully captures the contrast between a stylish, streamlined venture and the turbulence and uncertainty behind the scenes.  The latter is particularly well caught by the stressed out, exhausted seamstress who has the task of creating the gown to be worn by Ada to open the show. The teamwork and camaraderie among the workers creating the garments is well caught and there is a joyous moment when they applaud their co-worker’s final completion of the gown.

There are several scenes in the film with impact; the storylines are engrossing and Angelina Jolie does well in a demanding role. She is required to show her creative filmmaking flair alongside her ability to handle both work and personal issues. She has an intimate connection with an attractive cameraman, struggles with the news of her illness, the consequent disruption to her work life and concern regarding how her illness will affect her teenage daughter. 

Couture has a lot going on and, to some extent, the film lacks flow and cohesiveness.  With so much happening for the main characters and additionally the issues facing some of the young models, particularly those from unstable countries, there is difficulty reaching an overall satisfying conclusion.

Winocour succeeds in capturing the glamour and tension of the occasion and engraging the audience in some of the varied characters involved. However, I felt the film needed more. Perhaps it would better lend itself to a series with the opportunity to follow more thoroughly some of the storylines – delve into the lives of the women, expand on their hopes and concerns and provide greater clarity regarding any possible resolutions. 

Pat Byrne, March, 2026

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