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La vie en rose
Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Olivier Dahan's La Vie en Rose, one of the best biopics I've seen, tells Piaf's life story through the extraordinary performance of Marion Cotillard, who looks like the singer.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    100
    For Piaf fans, La Vie en Rose is a must-see. For fans yet-to-be, Dahan and Cotillard's film is an opportunity rich with discovery.
  3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    91
    Olivier Dahan's sprawling portrait of the life of Edith Piaf is the kind of grand, passionate historical drama that no one seems to be able to pull off any more.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    88
    Dahan's impressionistic heartbreaker of a movie gets it all in. And Marion Cotillard, lip-syncing Piaf's songs and digging into her soul with gale-force urgency, gives a performance for the ages.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    88
    It's sometimes wrenching to watch, but it's too gripping to turn away from.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Hurtling and impassioned, driven by some of the greatest popular music ever recorded, this wildly overripe and unkempt biopic is a true experience.
  7. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    83
    Cotillard brings honesty to histrionics. She makes Piaf - "the little sparrow" - soar.
  8. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Toddy Burton
    78
    How do you tell the true story of a mythical woman? In epic proportions, of course.
  9. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    The song for which Piaf is best-known - "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" ("No Regrets") - leads to a killer finale with Cotillard perfectly lip-synching Piaf's recording of it. Trust me; you'll want to own it.
  10. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Thanks to the extraordinary performance of Cotillard, who expertly lip- syncs to Piaf recordings and disappears into the part, few will regret seeing La Vie En Rose, named after a famous Piaf tune. Just brace yourself for a film of unvarying intensity that seems longer than its 140-minute running time.
  11. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    If even half of Olivier Dahan's robust film about Piaf's life is true -- and let's face it, much remains shrouded in myth and mystery -- it's a wonder she could get dressed in the morning, let alone forge a legendary singing career.
  12. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Kamal AL-Solaylee
    75
    Surprisingly but fittingly, for a film about the life of a singer, the use of songs is generally elliptical.
  13. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    75
    It's not an ideal film, but it has the virtue of the ideal star, and that counts.
  14. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    75
    La Vie en Rose elevates Piaf the archetype over Piaf the artist. Although I question this approach, I'm not sure it could have been done any differently, at least given the facts of Piaf's life. If there is such a way, Duhan didn't find it.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    70
    Marion Cotillard astonishes as Edith Piaf in 'La Vie en Rose.
  16. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    70
    The film is long and sometimes harrowing, but also enthralling.
  17. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Philip Kennicott
    70
    Cotillard leaves you loving her Piaf, wishing you could reach through the screen and steer her life a bit differently.
  18. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    63
    Wildly uneven.
  19. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    63
    There's a riveting tale within this awkward litany of pivotal moments. Still, despite the film's uneven nature, Cotillard's extraordinary performance is worth experiencing.
  20. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    The film is messy the way Piaf's life was messy: It's unafraid of extravagant gestures even when they fail to come off.
  21. Empire
    Reviewed by: Anna Smith
    60
    A far-from-rosy life story makes this lengthy biopic entertaining, but despite a strong lead performance it fails to get under Piaf's skin.
  22. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    60
    She lip-syncs convincingly to Piaf's songs. Even when she overacts like mad, she makes you think she's Piaf overacting like mad--the little sparrow with the foghorn pipes.
  23. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Steven Winn
    50
    A feverish, unremitting and grimly joyless film.
  24. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    50
    Dahan's filmmaking damn near sabotages the performance.
  25. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    50
    Uplifted beyond its merits by a stunning performance from Marion Cotillard, the humdrum biopic of Edith Piaf, La Vie En Rose, jogs obligingly along with Piaf the legend rather than the woman.
  26. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    50
    La Vie en Rose, which Mr. Dahan wrote as well as directed, has an intricate structure, which is a polite way of saying that it's a complete mess... In the end, as often happens in movies of this kind, La Vie en Rose is saved by Piaf herself.
  27. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    50
    Marion Cotillard tears up all the available scenery in this overblown, achronological biopic of French pop singer Edith Piaf.
  28. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    42
    For all its florid pretensions and epic length, the film's overwrought take on its subject's not-so-rosy life leaves behind no lasting insight.
  29. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    40
    There is no rhyme or reason to this jumble -- except perhaps to stress Edith's endless self-victimization. This lack of narrative coherence naturally has the effect of distancing us from her story.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 34
  3. Negative: 4 out of 34
  1. Halfwelshman
    9
    Just as a biopic should be, it's all about one person. If the actress playing Edith Piaf wasn't up to scratch, the film wouldn't work at all. Thankfully, Marion Cotillard is absolutely captivating. The inhabits the role to such an extent that you can forget that you're watching an actress. The film itself, through the way the story is told, is able to manipulate your emotions so effectively that you may find yourself laughing one moment and sobbing fat tears the very next. Piaf's iconic songs also perfectly compliment the story of her remarkable, if tragic life.… Full Review »
  2. scrieciu
    10
    Since I saw Marion Cotillard in the movie '' Inception '', I became a fan, because she's such a beautiful and talented actress. After I found out she won an Oscar for this movie, I had to see it. '' La vie en rose '' (original title is '' La môme '' ) is a captivating, entertaining and melancholic movie. It's the first time that I really felt sad for a character. Marion delivered such an amazing performance, that I couldn't even recognized her. She totally deserved that Oscar. It's the kind of movie that a teacher will make the students watch in class for an educational purpose. Well, it would have been the best. I enjoyed it and I had no problem understanding (okay okay, I speck french, sorry for putting it in your face). What I mean is, it's better to see it in the original language. Because if you see it with english subtitles, or if it's translated in english, it won't be necessarily the same thing (emotions, effect, plus it doesn't always translate expressions correctly). Anyway, french or not, you can still be amazed by this film. The cinematography is wonderful. The filmmakers did a good job for creating the ambiance from approximately 1920 to 1963. Of course, it also has some great classic songs. I wish I knew Marion Cotillard earlier, but I'm glad that I had the chance to see it. If you're a fan of dramas or melancholy, this movie is for you.… Full Review »
  3. JasonG
    6
    Marion Cotillard is absolutely captivating in her innocent and arrogant portrayal of The Little Sparrow. The slums of Paris are beautiful thanks to the rich music and character and song - while New York has never looked more glamorous than it does surrounding Edith Piaf. Watching La vie en Rose was like attending a marvellous art gallery that comes to life and sucks you in. However, the film starts as many biographical features do; late in the career of the subject and with ominous signs of the impending downward spiral. We then cut to Edith's childhood and one can assume that what follows is her life and lead-up to the film's opening scene. Instead the film jumps to moments in her life that both precede and follow the opener with no discernible pattern. At first this seemed simply an artistic method of film making but eventually became a confusing maze of snippets of film, so much so that I began to wonder if the film was going to ever end - and when the final scenes did come, I found I wasn't quite ready for them. Nevertheless, Cotillard's performance was without fault, the music is nothing short of beautiful and overall La vie en Rose is a very touching film.… Full Review »
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