Despite a career that began as a child in 1982 and brought her to Hollywood via 2003’s Big Fish, US audiences didn’t take particular notice of French actress Marion Cotillard until 2007’s La Vie en Rose. This occurred not because Rose made buckets of money, as it brought in a mere $10 million in the US.

However, Cotillard earned a Best Actress Oscar for her work in the film. This quickly opened doors for her in Hollywood, where she never quite became a star but she certainly found herself in a bunch of notable projects.

As a child, Édith Piaf (Pauline Burlet) lives in a French brothel run by her grandmother (Farida Amrouche). She eventually accompanies her father along his career as a circus performer.

Édith displays talents as a vocalist, and when she develops into an adult (Cotillard), she enjoys fame as a successful singer. Inevitably, her fame brings positives and negatives.

That summary implies a linear progression that Rose doesn’t actually provide. Instead, the movie hops around in terms of chronology.

Though Rose doesn’t proceed this way in an aggressive manner. For the most part, the story follows Piaf’s life in order, with sporadic glimpses of her later years on occasion.

These blend well and don’t become a distraction. While the film could work without the “flash forwards”, they freshen up the standard framework.

Cotillard remains the main attraction here. She plays Piaf from the ages of 20 to 47 and she covers all those bases immaculately.

Indeed, it often seems difficult to believe the same person portrays Piaf at so many stages of life. This becomes especially true because of all Piaf’s ups and downs.

Piaf died at 47, and as shown here, she deteriorated into a very old 47. Just based on looks, one would assume Piaf was 77 at the end, not 47.

Cotillard manages to take Piaf from hard-edged street urchin to aspiring performer to international star to sickly and dying legend with aplomb. At times, Cotillard’s work seems to border on camp, but one gets the impression she still conveys Piaf accurately, as the real Édith appears to have embraced her larger than life persona.

Not that this means Cotillard chews the scenery, as the movie allows her to paint the role with a mix of colors. In particular, she depicts the contrast between the brash public Piaf and the more introspective private Édith.

While the rest of Rose doesn’t live up to the highs of Cotillard’s performance, it still develops into a more than competent biopic. Normally I don’t care for films of this sort that span a character’s entire life, but the approach works fine here.

At least partly due to the consistent through-line Cotillard brings, the tale seems more coherent than most of the genre. Rather than come across as a “greatest hits” reel, Rose manages to give us a solid look at Piaf’s struggles and successes.

None of this makes Rose a great biopic, as it does spread a little too thin at times. After all, a film that spans a person’s life across more than 40 years can’t dig into that existence with great depth.

Still, Rose does better than most in that regard. Buoyed by an appropriately lauded lead performance, it becomes an engaging drama.

La Vie en Rose appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a good image.

For the most part, sharpness satisfied. A few interiors leaned slightly soft, but the majority of the flick demonstrated strong delineation and clarity.

I noticed no shimmering, jaggies or edge enhancement. The image remained clean and lacked any source defects.

Colors leaned toward a dominant sense of amber and teal. The tones seemed fine within those stylistic choices.

Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows showed appropriate clarity. Overall, this was a positive presentation.

As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Rose, it offered a low-key auditory experience. Sound quality was always good, at least.

Music worked the best, as the score and songs demonstrated nice range and depth. Effects didn’t play a major role, but they seemed acceptably clear and accurate, while speech was distinctive and natural.

The soundscape lacked much to impress. Music dominated, as songs/score came from all around the spectrum.

Effects had less to do, as they focused the realm of general environment, with a smattering of more dynamic scenes on sporadic occasions. Still, the track did what it needed to do for a film of this sort.

Note that the Blu-ray advertises an “Extended Version” of Rose. However, every listing of the film’s running time indicates it always went for about 141 minutes.

I could find no evidence of a shorter cut. As such, I can’t figure out what allegedly makes the Blu-ray’s presentation “extended”.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a featurette entitled Stepping Into Character. It spans seven minutes, 18 seconds and involves director Olivier Dahan and actor Marion Cotillard.

The reel looks at the life of Édith Piaf and its adaptation into a film as well as Cotillard’s performance and aspects of her physical transformation. Some of this leans fluffy but we get some decent notes about the various processes.

Marion Cotillard announced herself to the US audience with her lead performance in La Vie en Rose. She deserved the Oscar she won and helps elevate the movie above its biopic limitations. The Blu-ray provides very good picture and appropriate audio but it lacks substantial bonus features. Expect a better than average biographical drama from this one.