should have been better- Edith deserves so!

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2007)

This movie could have been and should have been much better executed, especially when the main character is Edith Piaf who led such a turbulent and eventful life. But that is the problem with biographical movies: they are either a hit or miss; but what makes them great is not only to portray events and characters accurately, but a) not to make it seem like a boring educational biography and b) to make it easy to follow for those who don't know much about the topic at hand while still making it exciting for those who do. And this unfortunately was not the case in La Vie en Rose.
I found that the chronological storyline and the timeline were awfully orchestrated; the movie kept switching to scenes from her childhood to old age, back to childhood and all over the place rather abruptly. Few times this was done very well, but others just destroyed the mood. For people that don't know her life story, the movie makes Edith look like a melodramatic, over-the-top alcoholic singer with penciled eyebrows- and this is hardly an accurate representation and only half of the story. Her rise from poverty to stardom was also overlooked- it came off as a simple switch without the true emotional impact it should leave on the viewers. The ending (last 15 min) on the other hand was superb, but it only made one realize how much better the rest of the movie should have been too. They could have explored her personal life more: even though he was her greatest love, she had more lovers and love affairs than just boxer Marcel Cerdan. The mood of the Paris, Europe and all the changes through the decades of her career (40s, 50s) should have been better captured- it felt like they were simply telling us a one dimensional version of her life with only half the story and even less emotion. Shame.
Needless to say, the acting hand was superb- Marion Cotillard deserves all the praise (and perhaps an Oscar too).