Marion Cotillard is absolutely amazing

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2007)

Probably not starting these comments at the right place, I feel almost compelled to refer to a critic's criticism that this movie jumps all over the place, or time, to be exact. To make such an observation in this day and age could mean only one thing  that the critic has either came from the stone age or gone back to it. Or maybe not. He may be just finding things to criticize, as that is what he does for a living.
But that is not even the point. There is a reason for this movie to keep moving back and forth in legendary French singer Edith Piaf's relatively short life (1915  1963). There is even a hint to this close to the end of the movie, if you are watching carefully. On her death bed, Edith Piaf says that flashes of memories of various parts of her life are coming back to her in random order, and the movie cuts quickly into a few of these flashes to purportedly replicate what goes on in her mind. And because it is close to the end of the movie, you recognize that this is in fact how the entire movie has been presented, albeit in longer scenes and sequences. Had the movie been shot at a rigid, chronological style, we would not have felt so close to the protagonist at its conclusion. I would add that while this style may not work for every movie, it certainly does for this one.
It would be tempting to try to compare "La vie en rose" with "Ray", "Walk the line" or "Beyond the sea". But that is not too meaningful because these legendary singers are all different, as are the movies. The one common denominator is perhaps that they all have had a traumatic experience at some stage of their lives, childhood, at the height of success or later years. With Edith Piaf, it's all of the above.
I shall not dwell on details of the vicissitudes of Piaf's life  the deprived childhood, the uncouth street singer, rise to stardom, romance and tragic loss, ailment and drug abuse, relentless determination to perform for the audience to her last breath  all that the audience will see as the movie unfolds. But in the end, it's Piaf the singer, and her voice.
And it is such a magnetic, electrifying voice for which we hear the original (similar to "Ray", while for "Walk the line" and "Beyond the sea", the actors are good enough to carry the singing themselves: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Kevin Spacey). In particular, there are three emotionally charged scenes: when as a young child (played beautifully by Pauline Burlet), Piaf who never sang in front of a crowd before is urged by his father to "do something" in front of an audience, belts out "La Marseilles" (this one, of course, is not from a Piaf soundtrack); her first appearance at a club when, looking shabby, shy and a little lost, she captivates the entire audience once she starts her song; and finally, "No regrets" (he version of "My way") as the climatic finale. But the movie may still disappoint some as Piaf's very own "La vie en rose", despite being the alternate title of the movie, is heard only briefly, as background music.
While the movie is certainly engaging, the general audience may not feel the same level of empathy that comes from a French audience. The passion for Paris, for example, had been emphatically mentioned more than once, but it may take someone who really knows the city to appreciate the depth of emotion behind this.
Marion Cotillard is absolutely amazing, portraying Piaf from a young girl of 20 to a dying woman in mid-forties (but looking 70 because of poor health). Her versatility is amply demonstrated in the wide range of emotions she commands with ease. Her performance alone makes this movie a must-see.