by Trent Sketch

Created on: February 24, 2008

La Mome (English title La Vie en Rose) is a non-linear biographical film about the life and career of French singer Edith Piaf. The film most certainly won't be to everyone's tastes because it is as far from formulaic as this style of film can be.

Marion Cotillard provides an expansive performance as Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow. With the assistance of very realistic make-up by fellow Academy Award nominees Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald, Piaf is brought to life in heart breaking detail on and off the stage. The purpose of the film isn't to present a pristine portrait of a tragically short life. The point is to introduce Edith Piaf to the world as a person, flaws and all. In that, the nuanced performance of Cotillard is essential.

The non-linear structure can be confusing at times. While it's obvious to see that the events played out by a small child come early in the life, and equally obvious where the footage of Cotillard - done up frail and wrinkled - appear, the middle section of her life is hard to follow at first. Everything does come together very well in the end. Some will just struggle to understand why certain events in the life are chronicled at all.

The film is beautiful to watch. The period costume work from Marit Allen is remarkable to say the least. The never-ending cannon of appropriately poor looking clothing for the early acquaintances of Edith Piaf is accurate for the period, while the later costume work is appropriately rich and attractive. As the success of Piaf grows, so does the visual style of the film. Brighter lights and fancier camerawork break through the early shadows and rigidity as Piaf broke through the barrier of being a street singer into the world of proper concert halls and success.

The greatest strength of the film is also perceived as its greatest weakness by some: the screenplay. Director Olivier Dahan and collaborator Isabelle Sobelman took a significant risk in presenting a biopic as a non-linear story. It pays off for an astute audience. For those willing to open their minds to a tapestry of life woven in rich detail over a 140 minute period, La Mome (La Vie en Rose) is a truly beautiful experience.

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