Piaf's spirit, those evocative songs and Cotillard's impressive work make it compelling. It's not an ideal film, but it has the virtue of the ideal star, and that counts.
La Vie En Rose (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:105
Rotten:37
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: The set design and cinematography are impressive, but the real achievement of La Vie en Rose is Marion Cotillard's mesmerizing, wholly convincing performance as Edith Pilaf.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for substance abuse, sexual content, brief nudity, language and thematic elements.
Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Jun 8, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $10,126,918
Synopsis: According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to... According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to America to the South of France. Abandoned by her mother, Piaf grew up in her grandmother's brothel and her father's circus, which is hardly the fun one might imagine. While singing on the streets of Paris as a teen, Piaf (played as an adult by Marion Cotillard, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) is discovered by club owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), and this chance encounter changes the woman's life. Her powerful voice takes her all over the globe, but it can't guard her from the pain and suffering she can't avoid. As Piaf, Cotillard is mesmerizing. She fully inhabits the singer's ivory skin, crafting a character that never descends into caricature or camp. She lip syncs to Piaf's legendary voice, but the performance is seamless. Like WALK THE LINE and RAY, this biopic creates a fascinating picture of an artist whose songs only begin to reflect the singer's painful life. But director-writer Olivier Dahan (LA VIE PROMISE) doesn't take the traditional biopic route with LA VIE EN ROSE. Instead, the film jumps between various moments in the singer's life, with little concern for linear narrative. Cotillard is just as adept at playing the teenage Piaf as she is the songbird on her deathbed at the age of 47, and it's her amazing performance that makes LA VIE EN ROSE worth seeing. [More]
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Gerard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Gerard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Clotilde Courau, Jean Paul Rouve, Marc Barbe, Catherine Allégret, Manon Chevallier, Pauline Burlet, Elisabeth Commelin, Marc Gannot
Director: Oliver Dahan
Director: Oliver Dahan
Screenwriter: Olivier Dahan
Producer: Alain Goldman
Composer: Christopher Gunning
Studio: Picturehouse
Get This Movie
Reviews for La Vie En Rose
The saucer-eyed Cotillard is convincing and astonishing, and she anchors a film that is less show-biz formulaic and more intriguing than its recent American counterparts, 'Walk the Line' and 'Ray.'
La Vie en Rose provides a tantalizing introduction to the tiny dynamo that was Edith Piaf but it's far from being a definitive or enlightening portrait of the famous singer.
It is Marion Cotillard that makes this movie an unforgettable experience.
A hugely entertaining biography of Edith Piaf, featuring a staggering performance by Marion Cotillard.
Filmmaker Olivier Dahan has created many scenes that are quite simply astonishing, and occasionally magical.
This kind of heightened drama might not work in most movies, but it suits its larger-than-life subject: Dahan's La Vie is the movie equivalent of a torch song.
We're given drama and despair at a distance . . . As Piaf, though, Marion Cotillard is remarkable. . . . but Dahan's work never bridges the bitter and sweet chords.
Dahan makes us wait for the cathartic release until the very end; the effect is not manipulative but absolutely exhilarating.
Director/writer Olivier Dahan renders Piaf's biography as a soft-serve twirl of gutter spunk and pathos, skating back and forth across the line that separates emotion from sentimentality.
I found myself so completely taken with the work of Marion Cotillard that all of its flaws faded into the background.
Cotillard holds all this together through sheer force of talent and will and makes Piaf the most likable crazy, morphine-addicted drunk in movie history.
Compelling but punishing -- an artful ordeal. The best way to process it may be as unintended camp, rolling your eyes in amazement at its litany of misery and heaps of histrionics.
Ultimately, the film rests on [Cotillard's] performance. And there’s no better homage to a woman who lived for every time she stepped onto stage.
Unfortunately, Olivier Dahan's "emotional journey" through this triumphant but tragic existence leaves us none the wiser about many of the details we'd like to know, or knowing, would like to see on the screen.
The details of the composition, the fluidity of the camera's movement and the magical elision between personal grief and "performed" grief are so confidently organised that one detects the shadow of a much subtler film. I wish that we could have seen it.
The film gets three stars because it’s such an impressive production – and of course the soundtrack kicks – but it’ll still probably leave you feeling strangely cold.
Marion Cotillard’s majestic, uncannily accurate portrayal is the main reason to see a film that makes heavy going of an exceptional life. For all Dahan’s lofty ambitions, you leave wishing he’d chosen a more straightforward way to retell Piaf’s story.
Latest News for La Vie En Rose
October 03, 2008:
Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary
As the NFT in London prepares a Juliette Binoche season, Kim looks at Abel Ferrara's Mary which also stars Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker. More...
May 07, 2008:
Warners-New Line Merger Clouds Picturehouse's Future ![]()
Now that New Line has been absorbed by Warner Bros., what will become of New Line's independent division, Picturehouse? More...
February 27, 2008:
Our Favorite Moments From The 80th Academy Awards -- An Oscar Pictorial
We've selected some of our favorite moments from Hollywood's biggest night! Browse our gallery of gowns on the red carpet, winners onstage, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the... More...
February 11, 2008:
Exclusive: BAFTA Red Carpet Video Report
RT chats to Marion Cotillard, Javier Bardem, Ricky Gervais, Jason Isaacs, Andy Serkis, Julie Christie, Diablo Cody, Sam Riley, Tom Wilkinson and, erm, Victoria Silvstedt on the... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 57% 57% | 9 |
| 44% 44% | Jennifer's Body |
| 58% 58% | A Perfect Getaway |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- La Vie En Rose at Rotten Tomatoes
- La Vie En Rose at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Moviefone lists their top ten nude scenes from film in 2009.

Thomas Leupp offers us Hollywood.com's take on the best films of the year.

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



