I will rate La Môme 6 out of 10 if only by the outstanding -I mean OUTSTANDING- performances by Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf and Emmanuelle Seigner as Titine. It is clear the rest of the cast members -including Gerard Depardieu's Louis Leplée- did so much of a good job alongside them that La Môme ends up as a credible narration by these merits; it is a most recommendable movie just because of its remarkable acting.
However, beyond this point there is not much to mention. Had I not known a little about Piaf's biography, I would have never understood the time jolts and poor scene continuity. It seems that, in an effort to provide the film with a surreal tone, director Oliver Dahan has been sadly unable to conceal his music video background, polluting the feature with flashbacks that lie scattered in the movie's main timeframe, and unnecessarily making the viewer's attention jerk back and forth.
Another director like Roman Polanski would have done a better directing job; Emmanuelle could have called him in.
However, beyond this point there is not much to mention. Had I not known a little about Piaf's biography, I would have never understood the time jolts and poor scene continuity. It seems that, in an effort to provide the film with a surreal tone, director Oliver Dahan has been sadly unable to conceal his music video background, polluting the feature with flashbacks that lie scattered in the movie's main timeframe, and unnecessarily making the viewer's attention jerk back and forth.
Another director like Roman Polanski would have done a better directing job; Emmanuelle could have called him in.