Lovely performance by Marion Cottilard as Edith Piaf in the inspirational and melodramatic film telling the life of Edith Piaf from her childhood till her death that deserves numerous best actress awards from different award-giving bodies.
My only critique on this film is that the melodrama went overboard a bit. Sure, Olivier Dahan probably just wanted to focus on the life of Edith, but not every single aspect of her life was just all tragedy laced with pain and suffering. Yes, we do have our painful moments probably like that of Edith’s but I don’t believe that that was the only thing in Edith’s life worth telling.
With the director focusing only on Edith, the other characters who played a major role in Edith’s life were overshadowed and weren’t portrayed well. We hardly knew who they were and how they became vital into making Edith Piaf who she was.
One thing that struck me most in this film was its editing. It has a music-video feel to it when it comes to that, switching from her past life to her present and finally ending when she was old and singing her last song, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets). That made me stay for the duration of the film aside from wanting to know what really happened to “The Sparrow.”
Making a film out of a biography of a person is really a tedious task but this biopic is marvelous in a lot of other aspects. It is a wonderfully made melodrama, one that I would recommend for people to watch.
Lastly, I would definitely recommend it for the music and the songs. 🙂
Ruth Medina-Ilasco 