"La Vie En Rose"
I have some Edith Piaf recordings and after watching this film, they sound even sadder.
I kept thinking about how Jamie Foxx won multiple awards for Ray and Reese Witherspoon winning for Walk the Line, I thought that Marion Cotillard’s portrayal of the haunted chanteuse was full of life. I knew then that she would edge out Julie Christie for the Best Actress Oscar. Shortly before the Oscars, George Clooney said that Cotillard’s appearance was like an old actress playing young, not the other way around. That was a very accurate observation.
A performance from an actress who wasn’t much of a star in her own country makes you wonder if she was just holding back for the right role. I slightly remember her in A Very Long Engagement, but there’s not much else to see if the spark she gives to Edith can be seen elsewhere. It’s delightful to see a tour-de-force performance from a young actor.
However, the movie itself is jumpy and melodramatic. Cotillard makes up for it by going into Edith’s soul and her music.
permalink | | film | 03/26/2008
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