Few would associate the visually sophisticated French icon, Edith Piaf, with boisterous, drunken swearing and general debauchery.

An elegant ode to passion, the woman once known as the “La Môme Piaf” (“The Little Sparrow” in English) is sooner reminiscent of a noblewoman en route to her debut than an uncultured and often downright crass party girl she was behind the scenes.

Appearances can be deceptive.

Such is revealed in the highly-revered French biopic “La Vie en Rose,” named for Piaf’s oft-covered, signature song.

Portrayed brilliantly by Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies), reportedly chosen for her eyes in their resemblance to the tragic French idol, it follows Piaf’s life from her childhood on the streets and in a Norman brothel, to her death at the top of the world’s musical stage.

Cotillard, who beat native performers for an Oscar for “Best Actress,” approaches the role with a stark realism that simultaneously shocks and soothes – her Piaf is at once sympathetic and revolting; sensitive and hardened; beloved and reviled. Aside from collecting a slew of seemingly contradictory qualities within one extraordinary woman, she manages to make this four-foot-eight sensation remarkably human.

Cotillard even went as far as to lend her voice to a scene in which Piaf was drunkenly performing at a bar, according to an interview with Collider. Although she spent the remainder of the songs lip-synching to original recordings, the absolute involvement of her entire body in the process made it instantly believable, as the actress seemingly channeled the raw passion and tragic perseverance of the deceased icon in her powerful performances.

Aside from Cotillard’s surprising, though entirely justified Oscar-win, the film is the proud recipient of five Césars (French film awards), one BAFTA, two Golden Globes and another Oscar for Make-up.

Directed by Olivier Dahan (Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse), the biopic is told in a non-linear chronology. Scenes of Piaf’s youth alternate with those of the final months of her life in her late 40s, during which she looked decades older presumably due to previous alcohol and morphine addictions. Although undertaking this particular form is often risky, in this case, it paid off tenfold. The triumphs and drama of this singer/songwriter’s life are intensely magnified as the juxtaposed scenes perfectly correspond to create a distinctly poignant aftertaste.

In no particular order, we witness Piaf’s childhood on the streets of Paris by her negligent mother, to her life in a brothel run by her grandmother, to her street corner performances for food, to her array of failed relationships to her drug abuse and ultimately death.

Through it all, she stubbornly maintains her duty as an entertainer. After all, she says, if she cannot sing, she cannot live.

Although many of the actors featured were absolutely phenomenal, including the internationally-acclaimed Gerard Depardieu (Green Card), Cotillard’s stellar performance leaves them all parsecs behind.

The soundtrack, which consisted primarily of Piaf’s previously-recorded works, with the exception of several pieces by Jil Aigrot, Cotillard and a Cassandre Berger, playing a child Piaf, can easily be attributed to one of the best in cinematic history.

The film concludes with Piaf’s premier performance of “Non, je ne regrette rein,” which translates to “No, I regret nothing,” sending an ideally powerful message and leaving the audience with cathartic fulfillment.

A tiny woman with enough passion, perseverance and pluck – in the form of Cotillard –to render her audience emotionally speechless takes the stage.

In spite of the anthology of obstacles that her life has become, she has no regrets.

And in viewing this film, neither should you.

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