La Vie en Rose

The life of French singer Édith Piaf touched on nearly every extreme of the human condition, said Peter Rainer in The Christian Science Monitor. Abandoned by her mother, Édith was raised in a brothel and forced, literally, to sing for her supper. Discovered by a nightclub owner at age 14, the tiny singer (she was only 4-foot-8) climbed the heights of celebrity, saw the love of her life die in a plane crash, and became addicted to morphine before her death of cancer at age 47. 'œHowever painful that life may have been for Piaf, it's almost criminally suited to the movies.'

Yet Olivier Dahan's loopy biopic doesn't do it justice, said Jan Stuart in Newsday. 'œThose who require strict linear progression in their bio-films might want to pop a Dramamine' before embarking on the two hours and 20 minutes of La Vie en Rose. Beginning with Piaf's collapse at a 1959 stage performance, the narrative hops back and forth in time, skipping over major events such as World War II and Piaf's affair with Yves Montand. But Dahan's film is saved by actress Marion Cotillard, said Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times. She portrays Piaf 'œin a technically virtuosic and emotionally resonant performance that elevates the material.' Lip-syncing to Piaf's best tunes, Cotillard is both an astonishingly good mimic and a moving performer, radiating pain and triumph behind the microphone.

Rating: PG-13

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