After marrying a successful Parisian writer known as “Willy”, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette ghostwrites for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. Colette's fight over creative ownership defies gender roles and drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression.  Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, celebrated French writer and gay icon, was not your average early-20th-century woman. And Colette is not an average period drama. Though the film's period details are exquisite, under Wash Westmoreland's elegant direction they are background to the woman at the centre of this story.