On the Cutting Room Floor: La Vie En Rose

I think we’ve gone about as far as we can go with the musician biopic. The new Hollywood trend born from the gushing reviews of Ray and Walk the Line, has, at least in my mind, come to an end. This is the year that has seen the genre mocked to a tee with Walk Hard and then deconstructed and risen like the phoenix to a new level of artistry in the densely abstract I’m Not There. Honestly where is there left to go? What new ground is there to explore? With Control (a movie I am pining for on DVD) I think the genre bore enough fruit for now. Time to replant and wait a few years for something new to sprout. So where, pray tell, does it leave this undiscovered pearl of a film, La Vie En Rose?

Well it is everything that a musical biopic has become. It has a standout performance by lead, Marion Cotillard, who better win the Oscar, beautiful cinematography and directing with exceptional period production design. So what sets it apart form its Hollywood brethren? One thing, structure.

This day and age everyone and your mother knows the basic plot a music bio. Starts off as a youth, is discovered, gets into drugs, fights addiction, either succeeds or pulls a James Dean. La Vie en Rose (or La Môme, French for "the kid" as the Oscars call it) is definitely guilty as charged. However where it differs in getting from A to B is that the film is presented as a memory; fluidly and reflexively moving back and forth through out Edith Piaf’s life to show you what you need to see and when, for dramatic effect. In this way, Rose one ups it’s Hollywood siblings putting an effectively beautiful spin on a genre

What I knew about Edith Piaf prior to this film could be summarized like this; she was an old popular French singer. And while that it is true, I had no idea the depth of her story. Piaf’s life started out in the brothel and ends in her deathbed looking much older than her 47 years, riddled by drug addiction and harsh living. Surviving her tumultuous youth, Piaf is discovered at an early age and grabs life by both hands wrangling all she can from it. Director Olivier Dahan deftly shifts from old age, youth, and height of her popularity with stunning effect. Themes and traits are shown across her life, benefiting from looking at Piaf’s life as a whole and dissecting it in that fashion. We start with her collapsing on stage, and that immediately informs what we then experience in her childhood. We know that this sweet little girl will one day be a collapsing singer and thus we are immediately drawn into her tale. The films non-linear style creates an absorbing and dense study of a fascinating woman.

All this would not be possible without Cotillard. As with most biopics, this a career making role. Cotillard (along with the exceptional and impeccably cast child actress Pauline Burlet) richly sketch the interesting Piaf. Cotillard particularly inhabits Piaf in a way DeNiro once (and will forever in the minds of viewers) inhabited Jake LaMotta. The beautiful Cotillard is physcially transformed into Piaf from age 17 all the way to 47, and she never once feels false. In fact she becomes Piaf to me, and probably many others, with her slumped shoulders, awkward jog, and deeply expressive eyes. Did I mention Cotillard has to play half the film drunk? That’s a hard job for any actress, but Cotillard never loses the realism. She is the anchor that keeps the film perfectly grounded. Unlike her US brothers La Vie en Rose never exalts Piaf as a saint. Quite the opposite. Cotillard is literally laid bare for all her imperfections to be seen. There is never a Hollywood gloss that surrounds so many musicians’ lives, just the tale of one deeply talented and troubled woman.

Centered by Cotillard breathtaking portrayal of Piaf, La Vie en Rose isn’t afraid to get dirty. It’s always honest about its subject, she is what she is, and the film does not judge her for it. That’s up to the viewer. In that way La Vie En Rose is less Walk the Line. It’s more like the French Raging Bull. Pull quote that. The structure is straight forward yet reflexive, a snapshot of memories leading to a sensational finale. The last half-hour, depicting Piaf's final day reveal insights and experiences that even Piaf might not want to admit to herself. Hunt for La Vie en Rose on DVD, and enjoy the gut-wrenching life of this talented forgotten performer. Its well worth it. Go Marion!