La Vie en Rose

4/3/2022

Marion Cotillard is super in this depiction of the life of French chanteuse Édith Piaf - from her upbringing in a brothel through the stages of her life that moulded this flawed but inspirational, and rather sad, woman into the truly international superstar that she became. Her performance is captivating; capturing the mannerisms and characteristics in a gritty, sympathetic and authentic fashion; leaving us in no doubt as to the thin emotional tightrope Piaf walked between sanity and, eventually, a drug-induced stupor and of the risks that involved not just for her, but those loyal (and not so much) around her. It is long, and at times Olivier Dahan takes a rather brutal approach to the chronology that can take a bit of getting used to; but the supporting performances - especially from Pac