rating:
(out of
4 stars)France, United Kingdom, Czech Republic; 2007
Directed by Olivier Dahan; produced by Alain Goldman; written by Olivier Dahan, Isabelle Sobelman
Starring Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gérard Depardieu
'La môme' tells the sad life of Edith Piaf, the troubled star who diead at age 47. The film is worth telling both as a story, as for the music that fills the entire film. It plays too long, and the editing is confusing and unnecessary from time to time, but there is always that beautiful music and one of the best performance seen in 2007 by Marion Cotillard. Production design, makeup, hair and cinematography are all outstanding.
The film starts near the end of WW-I. Abandoned by her mother, young Edith Giovanna Gassion ends up in whorehouse where the prostitutes take care of her. She's is taken by her father, an acrobat performing on the streets, and here she first shows her singing talent. Her saviour is Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), who turns her into the star "La môme piaf". Leplée is murdered and Piaf is one of the suspects, causing a career setback, but she returns greater than ever as simply Edith Piaf.
Against this story of success is a darker story, where her former live has made her the woman she is. She drinks heavily, has affairs (most famously with boxer Marcel Cerdan, played by Jean-Pierre Martins), becomes addicted to morphine, is always hard to work with. Especially after Cerdan dies in a plane crash she is devastated, which brings out the worst of her. To see her downfall, which sometimes happens literally, is as sad as can be.
This story, or stories, is not told chronologically. Sometimes this benefits the film, but I think it could have been told in the same order her live was lived. Now we have confusing scenes and a fabricated glorious ending with the performance of, of course, "Non, je ne regrette rien". I loved it, and she deserves an exit like this, but it could have been achieved in a more honest way.
Cotillard plays Piaf from the age of twenty until her death and it's a remarkable performance. In fact, I never thought I was watching an actress, it was Piaf up there, all the way through. Together with the songs, positively filling the more boring moments, Piaf's life is reconstructed and honored at the same time. 'La môme' is flawed but shows a remarkable life. This film will not just be loved by fans, though most of us probably are.