Alex in Movieland

Marion Cotillard, La vie en rose

While choosing the photos from this movie, I found myself clicking the snapshot button once to many times. This movie excites me, to say the least. I have to say sorry to those who hate it. I think it’s an excellent biopic and this performance is easily one of the best of the decade, if not THE best…

approximately 95 minutes and 27 seconds

74% of the film

La vie en rose

The life story of singer Edith Piaf.

Hell, yeah:

Hmmm, the film is in my Top 5 of 2007, so lots of good things about it. The technical part: great cinematography, costume design, art direction, makeup, excellent sound – obvious, as it’s a musical. I thought the direction was smart and the screenplay very proper for a biopic. Great idea to start the film with a great song and to end it with the best there is: Non, je ne regrete rien. The soundtrack is… well… it’s Edith Piaf, so the music is fabulous. And we’ll talk about Marion in a couple of seconds :)

Oh, no:

Actually, nothing here. I can understand if someone doesn’t like the editing and the whole back & forward storyline. But I dig it. So nothing negative about it.

Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf

(just) The Good:

Unlike the film, which presents her life without using chronological order, I’ll talk about Marion’s character from young to old. For me, it’s the older Edith Piaf that does the work, but Marion is also excellent portraying the singer at the start of her career.

Edith is playful, going from clownish gestures (Marion makes them look natural and it very much fits the character) to a larger spectrum of emotions.

She’s just a young girl, silly, naive and with one look, Marion lets you discover the vulnerability of Edith, the innocence. It’s not only the makeup department that helps you separate young Edith from old Edith. Marion uses different tricks for each period from the character’s life.

She’s so good at it and natural that I instantly believed her as being Piaf. Even from the first minutes, Marion sells the movie.

As Piaf grows into a mature woman, she’s becoming more of a diva.

It’s here where we also discover Piaf the devoted lover.

And as she becomes old, the character becomes as oscarish as it can be :). And I loved every minute of it. She’s on stage, singing her heart out.

She’s old, sick, addicted to drugs, fainting all the time. Older Piaf is heaven for any Oscar lover & divas fan.

Marion understands the character, she knows when to give her strength, when to make her weak, and she understands that Piaf was a woman who went for all or nothing, without any regrets. The scene that gives me chills is her fantasy of Marcel living and then finding out the awful truth. Powerful, a tour-de-force that gives me chills.

Obviously, . IMO it’s the best Best Actress win of the decade, to say the least.