Although not a great movie, the supernatural acting genius of Marion Cotillard must be seen to be fully believed and appreciated. She looks nothing like Edith Piaf but has a powerful voice and, as Piaf grabbed her audience's attention and emotions, Cotillard's mannered performance perfectly captures her character's anger for living – expressed in song. Piaf loves the stage because it is her only source of adoration – yet it does not provide a fulfilling passion.
Cotillion doesn't dominate the film - she is the film – as it perfectly showcases her considerable talent at playing a single character at different ages in her life. When she is young, she talks, moves and behaves as a young person; when old, likewise – her body language subtly evoking the emotions of the character at any given moment. Cotillard approaches her work as a child - without guile or inhibition. This is fortunate, since the movie lacks psychological depth – especially about Piaf's heroin habit – and we can only guess at what made Edith Piaf tick. Her classic existential, to be or not to be, problem is never resolved as she descends into spoiled star arrogance and hysterical prima donnaism to compensate for the fact she finds little reason to live fully.
Not just a film for Edith Piaf fans since it is impressionistic rather than lengthily detailing her entire life. Shot as you remember your own life – in snatches of here and there – it jumps in place and time as Piaf thinks back on her good and bad memories. That it does this without confusing its audience is quite a neat trick. Although not a great talent, director Olivier Dahan's genius is in getting great performances from everyone concerned in order to achieve a musical unity without the false notes of a poor performance spoiling the entire composition. His true talent lies in employing those more talented than himself to achieve his vision of an emotional portrait rather than a strictly biographical one – and all the better for it. We get down to brass tacks in this form of hagiography with the tabloid details elided to avoid it being little more than a parade of lookalike actors impersonating celebrities – particularly Jean Cocteau, Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
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