Weekly Film- La Vie En Rose

La Vie En Rose is a 2007 French Biopic following the life of French singer Edith Piaf in the early to mid 20th Century. It is written by Isabelle Sobelman and Oliver Dahan and is also directed by Dahan and stars Marion Cotillard as Piaf.

The films narrative non linear in its structure as from scene to scene we see Piaf at a variety of ages from a child in one scene to an middle aged woman in the next then a young woman in the scene after. This is a very effectively way in showing her story as it really makes you feel empathy for her as you can see an ageing ill woman and then in the next scene she is a young woman filled with hope. The audience can see how her life went up and down.

The film is shot very traditionally as well, with simple close ups to show a characters expressions or establishing shots to show where we are but twice in this film there are some single shot scenes. Both of these different scenes take place in Piaf's apartment. The first being one where she is getting ready to go out and we see a variety of people there trying to help her get ready. It feels slightly chaotic but you feel as though you are there in her apartment. The camera seems to move effortlessly and this scene is really well put together(the clip is this scene)

The next time it is used(which personally is my favourite in the whole film) is in a scene where Piaf finds something out that changes her a lot and we slowly see her change in emotion and mood. From the beginning this scene seems a bit off possibly because of the lack of backing music. The main twist in this scene is very effective and the use of the single camera shot really lets you appreciate Cotillards performance and again makes you feel as though you are there in the scene with her. This is also one of the most effective scenes in the film as it comes from out of the blue and packs a emotional punch.

Music is also a very central part of the story so is used very effectively. While this film is not a musical the songs can sometimes show Piaf's state of mind as there may be  more up-tempo song to show how her career is going well and how she has a great future ahead of her or sometimes a ballad when something goes wrong in her life.

The real Piaf and Cotillards portrayal

The stand out of the film however is Marion Cotillard's performance as Piaf. She inhabits the character exceptionally and has the same mannerisms as Piaf but it never feels like a caricature and you believe her throughout, even though her own singing voice is dubbed by Piaf . Her physicality the character is brilliant as she hunches and moves in the same way as Piaf. From the first scenes we see her as a young bubbly woman walking through the streets of Paris singing but later in the film she plays an aged and fragile Piaf. The director said that he wanted to use her from the beginning as, even though she was much taller that Piaf was, she had the same eyes as her and also needed to convince producers that she was the right choice especially as she was not really a known star so it could have been harder to sell to foreign countries.

The cinematography in the film also seems quite sepia through out with lots of use of dark colours like brown, grey, red and black. This makes the audience feel as though they are being transported to the past and it also reflects how life in the early 20th centaury was quite bleak with both world wars as well as the great depression.

The film had a budget of $15,000,000 and grossed $86,000,000. The films was also quite a critical hit at the time with Cotillards performance also being highly praised.

La Vie En Rose also did very well at the awards ceremonies. It was nominated for seven BAFTAS and won four which were film music, costume design, hair and makeup and Cotillard won for Actress in a leading role. It was also nominated for three Oscars one of which was costume design and won the other two awards for best hair and makeup and Cotillard again for Best actress.  

Overall I personally really loved this film as it was not your typical Biopic and it told a story that was worth telling. Everything in this film is done perfectly and it mixes humour with melancholy with some great dialogue as well.