I was in Canada (for the first time since 2017) between 31 August – 7 September. On the Air Canada flight from London to Montreal I finally watched Aline, the notorious French-Canadian 2020 Céline Dion biopic. (Even though the film’s tone is insanely worshipful, this is an unauthorized biopic so “Céline Dion” is referred to as “Aline Dieu.” But the Quebecoise diva’s management apparently signed-off on the project because all her hits are used. The singing is provided by Victoria Sio but you’d swear it was via Dion herself).
Anyway, Aline cleaves to every conventional rags-to-riches show biz cliche. One major obstacle for the film is how to smooth-over and make palatable Aline’s romance with Guy-Claude (Sylvain Marcel), the MUCH older record producer / mentor who first meets her aged nine, guides her to stardom and then marries her once she reaches adulthood. Another considerable downside if – like me – you’re not a fan of Dion’s power ballads is suffering through the multiple loving recreations of Dion in concert. (Her version of Tina Turner’s River Deep Mountain High is a crime against music!).
In the tradition of Barbra Streisand, French actress Valérie Lemercier stars, writes AND directs. Aline is clearly a labour of love for Lemercier and you can’t fault her commitment. But she makes a truly nutty creative decision that ensures Aline some degree of Bad Movies We Love-style infamy. The 57-year-old Lemercier opts to portray Aline throughout ALL her life – including early scenes as a 9-year-old and 12-year-old. Watching a wide-eyed and “Facetuned” Lemercier nibbling on a cookie is so genuinely freaky it feels like an Amy Sedaris parody. In a final flourish of craziness, it ends with Aline delivering the most bombastic ballad imaginable direct to camera, insisting she's just an ordinary woman who loves her neighbour and just wants world peace. (It turns into a plea for humanity). In conclusion, Aline needs to be seen to be believed. Frustratingly, it’s still not available for streaming in the UK!
J'ai demandé à Gisèle Lullaby, seule gagnante Québécoise de drag race Canada, qui est une très grande, vraie fan de Céline et aussi une de ses nombreuses imitatrices, ce qu'elle avait pensé d'Aline et elle m'a dit qu'elle avait adoré !!! Elle avait été tout particulièrement touchée par la scène où Guy-Claude rejoint Aline avant l'eurovision 🥲
Elle m'a dit tout ça en me serrant les mains et en se tenant à 5cm de mon visage avec une passion qui rendrait fière la Myosoteam
Sinon ça c'est moi qui me prosterne à ses pieds quand elle me dit que Valérie Lemercier est incroyable et que Palais Royal était "magique" !
Bref ça fait toujours tellement plaisir de rencontrer une personne québécoise qui comprend tout le travail et l'amour dans Aline
Le monde du drag vous aime énormément @valerielemercier 🤫
Discussing Valérie Lemercier's "freely-inspired" Celine Dion biopic — What do you do if your pop culture idol doesn't sign off on you making a biopic about them? Change their name, tweak some of the facts, and play all the roles so you can make a movie like Aline! We have A LOT of questions about the film:
🎥 What is Aline?
🎤 What is your relationship with Celine Dion?
😲 At what point in the movie did you go “Uhhhhh, what?!”