Marion Cotillard: French Actress Gets Into Hollywood?

I was surprised when I saw Marion Cotillard, a nationally famous young French actress, stepped on the red carpet on E! News TV Program several days ago. I was even more astonished when she was nominated for the best leading female actor performance in the Screen Actor's Guild Award this year as I saw it on Starworld channel today. To me, this girl is not a girl next door as what some people might have ever thought, because she is as really talented as performed in all her French-speaking movies.

I firstly saw her performance in a French romance drama-comedy, Jeux d'enfants (2003), as the naughty and rebellious Sophie, partnering with Guillaume Canet (who later is being gossiped as her new boyfriend). I watched it at French Cultural Center's movie hall in Jakarta, and was amazed by not only her bold, wild circle beautiful eyes ;), but also the character of Sophie which suited well with her. The film itself talked about the love relationship that grows between Sophie and Julien, childhood bestfriends, but is refused by Julien's father who considered her bringing a bad effect for his son. Even though Julien tried to live a real life by doing what his father wants, his love for Sophie still remains, so does Sophie.

I didn't even know if this movie has acclaimed an international admiration, particulary in USA, by made it translated into English as "Love Me If You Dare". I specially was curious with the quotes of those two couples who challenged to each other everytime they need to prove their courage to do something. "Cap ou Pas Cap", which means "do you dare or not dare?".

Her another performance which had attracted my attention was her role as a shy, talented and hardworking cellist girl named Lena, also in a French movie "Toi et Moi" (released in 2006). Here, Marion had once again surprised me by playing a very opposite, different character and seemed very well absorbed into it. Compared to expressive Sophie, Lena tends to keep her own problems and distracted from the public attention even though she caught her sparing partner, and the leading solo violist (I forgot his character's name) in her orchestra.

In this movie, Marion played as Julie Depardieu's sister who also has love problems with two different guys and often put many characters from her real life into writing. Julie Depardieu's character, Ariane, is however more intriguing as a romance-comic writer.

Now it seems that Marion begins to expand her career internationally as what her fellows already did (Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Eva Green) by entering into Hollywood. Her first internationally-nominated film, La Vie en Rose, which tells the true story of a well-known French singer, Edith Piaf, has proven that in several movie awards in USA. Compared to Green who spent her early years in England, Marion's English still needs to be improved even though she appears to be trying hard in reading (or memorizing?) the script at the Screen Actor Guild's event. But anyhow, I'm sure her career in Hollywood, if she intends too, will boost as I found out that American public seem to be falling in love with her already ;). Bonne chance, Marion!