Aline: An Unconventional Non-Biographical Film –

Aline makes it clear that it is only loosely inspired on the life of Celine Dion, hence the name Aline and not Celine. But they’re very much the same person — Aline is even mistakenly called Celine at one point. It’s beat for beat Dion’s life story, of how she was discovered at the age of 12 and rose to fame due to her remarkable voice.

Valérie Lemercier plays Aline – she’s also the director and one of the writers for the film. The strangest thing is that she plays Aline from a very young age, so there’s plenty of uncanny valley moments where Lemercier is digitally shrunk to a much younger age – first five then twelve. I struggle to comprehend this bizarre choice. Was it to help make the age gap between Aline and her love interest/manager Guy-Claude less visually off-putting? Perhaps. But the movie goes to great lengths to hide this strange special effect from us, with Aline’s face either obscured by the stage or her hiding under a table, or with shots that place her at a distance to make it less distracting.

However, I can’t help but be distracted.

Lemercier is also clearly lip syncing, which makes immersion even harder. Given that Dion’s voice is so powerful and one of a kind, I certainly don’t expect the actress to aspire to that level. I know she’s trying to embody Dion’s stage demeanour and mannerisms, but it’s all so wildly distracting. Things become more awkward when a romantic energy starts to blossom between Aline and Guy-Claude, much to the disapproval of her mother. She doesn’t want her princess to be with this older, twice-divorced man, but it’s too late: Aline’s already in love and can’t be talked out of it. Aline and Guy-Claude share some cute, playful moments together, but largely, the movie doesn’t manage to make this coupling any less odd.

At this point, we’re one hour into the film, and the audience is still struggling to discern its purpose. Is it trying to poke fun at standard biopics? Maybe, but at the same time, it feels too sincere in its attempts to chart her life. Intense stardom means more work and more travel, and we see Aline come to a breaking point when her voice becomes fatigued. She desires a normal life with her husband and family, able to eat and do what she wants, but her immense talent means that sacrifice needs to be made.

All this stress is compounded by her inability to get pregnant, which are issues Dion herself spoke candidly about. So you see, it’s no longer being bizarre or poking fun, but trying to authentically capture her life. Yet, it’s not supposed to be a biopic about Dion. Do you see my dilemma with this movie?

We also never really get to know Aline. She’s inscrutable. There are certain broad motivations of course, like her desire to be a singer, her desire for Guy-Claude and later on for a child. But it all feels like window shopping, where we’re merely gazing at tableaus of her life unfolding, her story forever distant and unreachable.

Review screener provided.

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