La Vie en Rose (La Môme)
Directed by: Oliver Dahan
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Gerard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Jean-Pierre Martins
MPAA Rating: PG-13, for substance abuse, sexual content, brief nudity, language and thematic elements
DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007
*Spoilers*
Edith Piaf has become an icon of France with her powerful voice that transcends language. Even if the name Edith Piaf doesn't ring a bell, her most famous song "La Vie En Rose" will most definitely be familiar. The song is synonymous with France and is heard in everything from trailers for "Ratatouille" and even "Hairspray". The song is THAT famous. "La Vie En Rose" = France; Edith Piaf = France. What most people don't know is the life behind the icon. The film gives a look into the tumultuous life of this famed French singer.
The film follows Edith Piaf's life from early childhood to her death in 1963. She was abandoned as a young child by her mother, and then again by her father, and had to live in a cabaret, raised by the women who worked there. She grew so attached to the women of the night that when her father comes to get her, years later, she doesn't want to leave them. As an older teen, she is singing on the streets of Paris with a friend, when she is discovered by nightclub owner Luplee (Gerard Depardieu). He dubs her "The Little Sparrow", "La Mome Piaf", and this is where she makes her big break. Later, she is a big star performing at huge theaters across France and the US. She eventually meets the love of her life, a married French boxer named Marcel Cerdan, with whom she has an affair for years. She becomes addicted to drugs and alchohol, which age her beyond her years, and she dies at the early age of 47 of liver cancer.
The story of Edith Piaf's life is told mostly through long flashbacks, sometimes making it difficult to follow the timeline. But this doesn't take away from the movie at all, in my opinion. I was totally engrossed in the film from beginning to end, even with the long two and a half hour run time.
It is hard to talk about this film at all without mentioning Marion Cotillard's performance. Every actor in this film is perfect in their role, but Marion Cotillard is heaven-sent. I've been a huge fan of hers since "Love Me If You Dare", but this film will put her on the map. Oscar buzz has been building since this film debuted at Cannes and for good reason. If Cotillard is overlooked for Best Actress, I'll be shocked. She doesn't sing in the film, the director Oliver Dahan didn't think Piaf's distinctive voice could be replicated, but she lip synchs like nobody's business. If you're like me and you chuckled a bit that lip synching could be noteable, watch the film. You'll see. She looks like she's singing. She looks like she's feeling the emotion that Piaf felt. Lip synching aside, Cotillard is immaculate in the range of emotion that is required to play a real-life character like Piaf. My favorite scene by far is the tragic scene in which her lover dies. I was sobbing along with her, heck, I might start sobbing again right now just thinking about it. It's one of the most powerfully acted scenes ever.
This film is powerful, and Edith Piaf's voice is infectious. Even without knowing a lick of French, I purchased the soundtrack for this film and am singing along phonetically in my car. The music is that good. Following in the footsteps of Will Smith in "Ali" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray", Marion Cotillard's performance as Edith Piaf is one that the Academy will surely not overlook. She is hypnotizing. She is mesmerizing. She IS Edith Piaf.
4 out of 5 stars
Jenny Rushing
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