Review of La Vie en Rose (2007) by Nicola F — 03 Aug 2009

Frustrating film. Fantastic performance (and makeup), but I've rarely seen a film so hurt by excessive jumps in time. Such a distracting web of flashbacks -- and then when the tale finally nears its end, her life starts flashing back all over again! Mon dieu! The needlessly snarled storytelling really wore me out, and had me checking my watch during the final half-hour.

On a more personal note, I also had a hard time appreciating the music. Was her catalog really so narrow? No evidence of blues, folk, jazz...scarcely even classical music. Just one strident, European cabaret tune after another, with so little sense of tenderness or nuance. The appeal escapes me. There's one scene in which Piaf grumbles something like "I don't get America, and America doesn't get me." Guilty as charged, I'm afraid.

Carefully watch a crucial scene around the 1:46 mark -- there's a fairly virtuosic long take which follows Piaf wandering through rooms and corridors for almost five minutes without a cut. Nicely done.