One of the Greatest Female Performances of the Decade

Rating: 8/10 (20 June 2017)

Marion Cotillard's performance was unlike any other she has done, or anyone else for that matter. I can only think of a handful of other performances of the same caliber, one is Charlize Theron in Monster (2003). I don't actually know the real Edith Piaf very well, but that doesn't matter. The movie's screenplay and performance are key to it's greatness.
The characters, especially Edith, are so well written and deeply explored. I believe the most important scene in the movie which highlights Cotillard's performance and Isabelle Sobelman's and Olivier Dahan's witty storytelling and direction is Edith's breakdown in December 13, 1959. From this scene we immediately understand how important singing is to Edith, in fact Cotillard's performance is so raw it delivers the feeling that singing is the only thing she has left, the only reason she lives anymore. Now the fact that all this was shown prior to the scenes of her marriage/affairs with Marcel is brilliant storytelling in that it allows the power of the previous scene (Edith's breakdown) to let the audience guess that even though she is passionate about Marcel, they will not continue to be together because if they did Edith would not be clinging on to singing as though it is the only thing she has left in life.
And then of course the ending, perfect. The three timelines are aligned in such perfect harmony they feel as one ending giving rise to the next and that to the next.