La Vie En Rose (2007)

Director: Oliver Dahan

Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic opts for a non-linear approach that quickly becomes wearisome. It means that we are offered only glimpses of certain aspects of Piaf's character and of certain stages in her life; even some highly significant events are largely glossed over (for instance, the death of Piaf's child is momentarily shoehorned into the final sequence through clumsy use of flashback).

For all its refusal to embrace straightforward structure, however, the film is far from experimental; mostly it's a by-the-numbers, Oscar-friendly bore. Piaf's parents are little more than two-dimensional evil caricatures, for example; and then there's the highly predictable decision to end the film with a performance of "Je Ne Regrette Rien". Especially misguided, completely unnecessary and just inexplicable, is a saccharine scene in which Piaf communicates with a guardian angel.

Cotillard is undeniably impressive, but since her performance is sliced up and is part of such a mediocre melodrama, it's often difficult to appreciate.