Worthwhile doco-drama

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2008)

A worthwhile film to explore if one is interested in learning the storied history of legendary French singer Edith Piaf, La vie en Rose is a classy period piece production detailing the singer's rough upbringing through to her historic last stand.
I credit director Olivier Dahan for piecing the movie together in a non-chronological way and adding dashes of surrealist imagery to help tell her story in a more intriguing, accessible way but the constant cutting back and forth does become excessive at points and almost seems like a distraction when it is too constant.
Of course the award winning Marion Cotillard shines brightly as the tempestuous title character, though her makeup department shines nearly as bright, authentically reproducing Piaf's appearance throughout the decades with believability. I do not want to rain on her parade because it is a dedicated and demanding performance that she put all her heart and soul into, but one of the greatest performances of all time??..I think not. She is prone to overacting and hysteria a little too often for sheer perfection.