Posts with tag les jolies choses
Marion Cotillard to Join Depp and Bale in 'Public Enemies'
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Noir », Universal », Johnny Depp »
If you've seen Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, you've seen one heck of a great performance. But will we see another from the actress, or was playing Edith Piaf the role of a lifetime? While I can't imagine her ever making such a huge transformation or giving such a notable, career-defining performance again, I'm excited to see where her Oscar nomination takes her and I hope that she can at least follow it up with some interesting parts. We've already heard that her next major role will be in Rob Marshall's Nine, an adaptation of the musical inspired by Fellini's 8½. After that, she could be heading to Chicago (not Marshall's Chicago, the real city) for Michael Mann's Public Enemies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Cotillard is in negotiations to play Billie Frechette, the torch singer girlfriend of John Dillinger, who will be played by Johnny Depp. Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and Jason Clarke have also joined the cast.As Monika relayed last week, Billie will be a major character in the plot of Public Enemies, which also stars Christian Bale. The movie will reportedly balance between Dillinger's crime story and his love life while also focusing on FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), who famously pursued and caught Dillinger in the mid-1930s. It is interesting to note that Public Enemies will be another singing role for Cotillard, who did not actually perform any of the Piaf songs in La Vie en Rose. But while the actress is not a born singer nor a long-trained one, she did sing in in the 2001 French film Les Jolies Choses (Pretty Things) and will be singing in Nine. Also, if you think Cotillard is suddenly getting work just because of her La Vie en Rose acclaim, you're mistaken. You may have seen her in either of her two English-language movies (Ridley Scott's A Good Year and Tim Burton's Big Fish), in any of the three Taxi movies, as the female lead in the sweet Amelie wannabe Love Me If You Dare, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie follow-up, A Very Long Engagement or in any of the many other French films in which she has appeared.
Indies on DVD: 'Flanders,' 'Pretty Things,' 'Blame It on Fidel'
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Thrillers », New on DVD », The Weinstein Co. », Cinematical Indie »
The biggest indie release this week is Michael Moore's Sicko, which we've already covered extensively. I admit to a blind spot regarding Moore -- I think he's sincere in wanting to change things for the better, but his methods and approach drive me nuts -- so I'll just note that The Weinstein Co. DVD is filled with supplemental features and move on to less publicized films.Just as controversial in its own way, Bruno Dumont's Flanders (pictured) debuted at Cannes last year, sparking passionate response, mainly in a negative vein. Our own James Rocchi called it "slow, turgid, bleak and brutal ... watching Dumont try and craft allegories and deeper meanings out of the petty interactions of his thinly-crafted characters and their meaningless actions and cruelties is a bitter experience." Other critics liked it much more, though, so I remain stubbornly intrigued. The DVD from Koch Releasing appears to be bare bones.
I'm also curious about Pretty Things (Les Jolies Choses) because it features Marion Cotillard in a dual role as "a goody-goody and her evil twin." Variety further described the film as "a blistering music-biz romp." Cotillard made a huge splash as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose this year. I'd love to give this action thriller a spin. The DVD, also from Koch Releasing, is likewise without supplemental features.
Blame It on Fidel follows a nine-year-old girl trying to make sense of a world gone mad: Europe in the early 1970s as her parents suddenly become politically active, throwing her life into turmoil. The movie slipped completely under my radar, but it received very positive reviews when it was released earlier this year. Koch Releasing's DVD includes a "making of" feature, behind the scenes segments, and deleted scenes presented by director Julie Gavras.








