Outstanding in every way

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2007)

This film ranks up there with Amadeus as a truly superb biopic. Not only is the cast amazing (Marion Cotillard gives a once-in-a-lifetime breathtaking performance), but Dahan's direction is brilliant as well. The shifts in time serve to enhance the drama and the emotional impact and keep the film from becoming an ordinary music video. Critics labeling this film as melodrama are doing an injustice to the subject matter. Piaf's life was so tragic that it is impossible not to create melodrama, but truly in the best sense of the word. In fact the brief memory Piaf has on her deathbed of Marcelle is so much more poignant than if the director had included the event in chronological order. Furthermore the cinematography is amazing; so many of the frames are works of art. I almost wished I could see them again.
The music alone is worth seeing this film for. I was disappointed when I walked into the lobby and didn't find Edith Piaf CDs for sale!