The life and career of Celine Dion is the inspiration of an upcoming, unorthodox, and unauthorized biopic titled Aline, written, directed, and starring Valérie Lemercier.
The movie made a buzz on the film festival circuit for its bizarre approach to Dion’s story — Aline markets itself as “fiction freely inspired by the life of Celine Dion” — as well as Lemercier’s portrayal of the singer, playing “Aline Dieu” from the ages of five to 50. Early in the new trailer, the 57-year-old Lemercier is seen as the preteen Dieu. In that same scene, a record exec mistakenly calls Aline “Celine,” a clever nod to the film’s inspiration.
Paralleling Dion’s real life, Aline also marries and has a family with her much older manager, and her stardom eventually settles her in Las Vegas, where Aline gets lost in her own enormous mansion.
After premiering at Cannes earlier this year and already screening in Europe, Aline will come to U.S. theaters on Jan. 21, 2022. While Dion has not spoken publicly about the film, Aline allegedly did receive approval from one of the singer’s managers, the Toronto Star reported.
In a November interview with the Montreal Gazette, Lemercier said that one of Dion’s children had reached out for a copy of the film in order to show their mom. “I told my producer: They have to see this film because it’s a film about their father,” Lemercier said. “I’m not afraid of the critics’ reaction, I’m afraid of Céline’s reaction. I want to know how her heart reacts to it.”
From Rolling Stone US
