La Vie en Rose
As you might know, I watch my fair share of depressing movies. But even for a connoisseur such as myself, this one had a little something extra to push you over the edge. La Vie en Rose, originally titled La môme in France, spins an intricate, non-linear, and oh-so-depressing web that attempts to shed light on the life of the popular French singer Édith Piaf (superbly played by Marion Cotillard). Born to homeless street performer parents, and later abandoned to be brought up by her grandmother in a brothel, the true life and times of the talented star already had all the makings of a primetime soap opera. But with her rise to fame, things only get more interesting.
A tale about surviving a life of homelessness, prostitution, drug addiction, several near-death accidents, and pretty much any other type of horrible adversity you could think of, her life seemed a bit harsher than most. And the makers of this movie made the most of each trial. Coupled with the abrupt flashback/flashforward style of the film, this created an interesting dynamic whereby if I found myself watching more than 3 minutes of the movie without seeing something horrible become of Ms Piaf, I would brace myself for the following scene as I knew what would come next. In fact, the director is so intent on the audience having the grimmest experience possible that the entire movie is cast in a slight green-gray haze, to maximize dreariness.
Although the film itself was not exactly what I would call enjoyable, the acting was excellent. Marion Cotillard simply melted into her role and no trace of her usual elegant self was even remotely visible in this touching portrayal of a broken human being. It's no wonder that Ms Cotillard won the hearts of the Academy to become the first actress to win an Oscar for a French language performance. Plus, we need only to look at her poor eyebrows in this movie to understand her dedication to her art as an actress.
The final verdict? If you're an avid fan of Édith Piaf or her music, you may enjoy this film. Otherwise, watching it solely for Ms Motillard's performance may be worth the pain of seeing a person fall apart, over and over again.
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