La Vie En Rose

Edith Piaf is one of those singers, like Streisand, that you either
get or you don't. For some the gravelly trills of her voice evoke the soul of Paris, whilst to others it's like nails down a blackboard. Similarly the musical biopic is an acquired taste and a film genre that is very hard to get right - the rise, fall (typically with substance abuse involved) and predictable rise again is a progression that has been done to death, as shown by such recent films as Ray and Walk The Line. It's therefore hard to quantify why La Vie En Rose is such a fantastic film.

In no small part is the success down to an amazing central performance from Marion Cotillard (her most notable appearances to date have been the Taxi films in her native France and Tim Burton's Big Fish). She portrays Piaf from her late teens through to her final days and it's a truly mesmerising experience to watch her blossom as a fresh faced street urchin, discovered by Depardieu's father figure Louis Leplée, through to her doomed affair with married boxer Marcel Cerdan (one of the film's many memorable scenes is the reconciliation scene between the lovers) and her final rendition of "Non, je ne regrette rien" at the Paris Olympia. A must see.

Released 22nd June 2007 by Légende Releasing.

Written by Simon Cole.