Movie Notes: La Vie En Rose
= 4 stars
Starring Marion Cotillard, Silvie Testud, Pascal Greggory
Directed by Olivier Dahan
Synopsis
Biography of Edith Piaf, popular French singer who rose from poverty to worldwide fame.
The Good
- Marion Cotillard literally pulls off a one woman show, portraying Piaf from teenager to old age, with a strong, brave streak of bold emotion. She’s also good in Love Me If You Dare.
- Surely the vocal performances are lip synced but you’d hardly know it from the aggressive manner in which Cotillard throws herself into the role.
- Although the film loosely follows the standard musical bio pic pattern (how could it not?) it doesn’t feel as cliched. The film is less fascinated by the fame or music business aspects of the musican’s career than the question of what drives someone to be an artist. It’s more Raging Bull than Ray.
The Bad
- A bit long.
Conclusion
Although this movie is about a famous musician, it goes beyond and enters the realm of character study — what inspires a person to do what they do; to strive ahead with their passion despite all the barriers thrown up around them? Since Piaf’s life is so devoid of happiness and love, it seems all she has is the stage. In addition, there’s a tour de force performance at its core.
IMBD: La Vie En Rose
Wikipedia: La Vie En Rose
Rotten Tomatoes: La Vie En Rose
How would it fare for someone who knows nothing about Piaf? My husband isn’t a huge Piaf fan, although he agreed with “our song” as La vie en rose. I’m dying to see it, but not sure if he’ll buy into it.
Neither me nor my wife were familiar with Piaf’s music either, but still really enjoyed it. It’s more a character study of a really strong / strange personality. It is an import with subtitles (and all that entails). I recommend it as a rental for sure.
Have you seen any other movie with her? This is the only movie where Marion Cotillard played well.
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