The rest of the cast is wonderful as well. Sylvie Testud (La France) is affecting as Momone. You can really feel her anguish when she realizes her friendship with Edith is gone. She and Cotillard have a genuine onscreen relationship. As the prostitute with a heart of gold, Emmanuelle Seigner (Four Last Songs) is heartbreaking to watch. Gerard Depardieu (Paris, Je T'aime) is wonderfully understated as Louis Leplee, the man who changed Edith's life and became her "Papa." And Jean-Pierre Martins (Empire of Wolves) is handsome and charming as Marcel Cerdan, a perfect match for Cotillard's Edith.
The screenplay by writer-director Olivier Dahan (La Vie Promise — The Promised Life) and Isabelle Sobelman is rather difficult to follow, at least in the beginning, as the story jumps around in time and bits and pieces of Edith's life are presented in sometimes unrelated segments. I understand what they intend to do and I appreciate the slow and intricate reveals — it is fascinating to piece everything together, which makes the ending of the film extremely powerful. However, the editing is very challenging for the audiences, and it takes a while to get used to it. It is simply not the best way to tell a story, and it gives off a somewhat "pretentious" art-house vibe.
To their credit, however, the story makes no apologies and never tries to sugarcoat Edith Piaf's life. She's depicted as a junkie, an alcoholic, an adulterer, and a difficult diva. She is constantly rude and cruel to the people around her. And yet, by watching her life in pieces spanned across time, we understand where she comes from and where she is going, and in truth come to care about her and feel for her, even though we may not identify with her. We come to understand why her friends are loyal to her, even when she treats them like crap. And that is a challenge — how can we identify with someone who is brash, selfish, and a total wreck in her personal life? I find myself resisting her while being fascinated by her turbulent life and how her star rises and dims.
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