This film is a biography of the late French singer and actress Edith Piaf. While not known very well in the US, she was a huge star in France and throughout Europe in the 1940s and 50s. The film explores much of her life, though oddly, it seems to miss a few details which might have been interesting--such as the entire second world war and what Miss Piaf did during a 10 year stretch from about 1938-1948.

The leading lady in this film, Marion Cotillard, did an amazing job and deservedly won an Oscar for her performance as Edith Piaf. Oddly, however, is that although this was a very good performance, the film itself wasn't particularly involving. It's a testament to Ms. Cotillard's performance that she won the Best Actress award given that she was in a film that was only slightly above average as I have probably seen hundreds of better French films. Now I am sure that there are many Edith Piaf fans out there that may be enraged by my saying this, but the film lacks one very important quality I like to see in any bio-pic--and that is likability. From what I could see, although the film helped us to understand why Ms. Piaf became who she was, it didn't encourage me to care one bit about the rather obnoxious and unlikable lady. Sure, she was a French institution and lovely singer, but the film makes her seem like a shallow and self-indulgent fool--treating those around her horribly, having an affair with a married man and using alcohol and drugs with reckless abandon. Because of these problems and the great length of the film, I found myself wanting for the character to just die so I could stop watching the movie. I would probably feel much the same way about a film about Billie Holiday or Judy Garland--two great American singers who led similarly self-destructive lives.

This is a biopic of Édith Piaf (Marion Cotillard) told in a non-linear manner. The movie starts with her collapsing during a 1959 New York performance. She is a young girl crying in the streets of 1918 Paris. Her father is away at war and her singing mother abandons her. He returns home to take the sick Édith away to his mother who runs a brothel in Normandy. She is befriended by maternal hooker Titine. His father returns again to take her away to work in the circus. They quit the circus and she starts singing in the streets. Nightclub owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu) hires her giving her the name Piaf until his murder. This is a low point as the public turns against her and she is forced into a convent by her mother. Next, she is in post-war New York falling for boxer Marcel Cerdan. It is a troubled exuberant life of ups and downs.

Marion Cotillard is incredibly powerful acting this wild life. She delivers on every point. It's a masterful performance. The movie itself is a long-running biopic. The story isn't able to distill into a simple idea. It's a lot of sections and vignettes. The most controversial and powerful should be her years in occupied Europe working under Nazi rule. Oddly, the movie seems to skip over that important part of her life. Maybe, there are uncomfortable rumors that the movie refuses to touch. Overall, Cotillard is so powerful that any problems fade into the background.

I saw this film a while back and was thoroughly impressed, even with the flaws. Looking back on my reviews I was surprised I hadn't yet reviewed La Vie En Rose(or La mome as it's listed here). So here it is. La Vie En Rose is uneven but there is a huge amount to redeem it. My complaints are that the film's story structure is somewhat disjointed and the script does have a tendency to make the film go overly-dramatic.

However, La Vie En Rose is stunningly filmed- the scenery, sets, costumes, hair, make-up and cinematography are simply stunning! Another major plus is the soundtrack, I really like Edith Piaf, and her songs are used to great effect here. La Vie En Rose, Frou Frou, Non je ne regrette rien and L'Hymne a l'amour among others are sublime to listen to and just hearing Piaf's voice makes me moved. The direction is pretty decent as well, and in terms of acting Pascal Greggory, Gerard Depardieu and Sylvie Testud are all very, very good. However, Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf herself is outstanding. Her beautiful looks and her dazzling presence are enough to make me be completely enchanted by her. Sometimes I forget that I am seeing Marion Cotillard, sometimes I think I am seeing Edith Piaf, Cotillard's performance is THAT good.

Overall, despite its flaws, I seriously have no regrets seeing La Vie En Rose. 8/10 Bethany Cox