Cotillard's Piaf suberb

by RICHARD JONES

Edith Piaf grew up in an impoverished Paris neighbourhood to become one of the 20th century's most famous singers.

Marion Cotillard transforms herself into Piaf in Olivier Dahan's La Vie En Rose, which starts off in 1959 when the chanteuse sensationally collapsed on stage during a New York concert.

Dahan's film then takes us back to Piaf's youth. Nightclub owner Louis Leplee (Gerard Depardieu) sees her singing on a Paris street with her friend Momone (Sylvie Testud).

Leplee gives Piaf her first break.

The film then takes us through a number of stages in Piaf's career, including her celebrated love affair with the world middleweight boxing champion Marcel Cerdan (Jean-Pierre Martins). He was the love of her life.

Piaf suffered from a number of ailments throughout her short life - she died when she was 47 - and Cotillard gives a superb performance. She vividly shows us how the singer rose above her ever-present pain to release her extraordinary voice.

17 September 2007

australianrules.com.au

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