[12] On 7 January 2020, it was announced that France's CNC had granted an advance on earnings to Mona Achache's documentary project Little Girl Blue,[21] whose production details were yet to be formalized.
[24] The title Little Girl Blue comes from the song of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, whose version sung by Janis Joplin is featured in the film.
[32] Cotillard said the story portrayed in the film felt close to her, as her mother and her grandmother have also suffered abuse in their relationships with men.
[34] Achache and director of photography Noé Bach shot with a Steadicam in the empty streets of Paris during the early morning, at dawn and at night.
[1] On 26 May 2023, Deadline unveiled the first clip from the film during their interview with Mona Achache and Marion Cotillard that was conducted by Pete Hammond.
[51] The album with the soundtrack composed by Valentin Couineau was released by Les Films du Poisson on 15 November 2023.
[55] Allan Hunter of Screen Daily said in his review: "Achache's voyage around her mother ultimately blossoms into a shocking tale of abuse, shame, self-loathing and the quest for redemption.
We witness Cotillard running her lines, fluffing her dialogue, trying to match Carole's words with her lips and receiving specific instruction from the director.
It can break the spell of the performance but Cotillard does deliver, especially in the soul-searching, confessional scenes from Carole's later years.
"[12] Dave Calhoun of Time Out gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Little Girl Blue works as a tribute, a post-mortem and an act of attempted closure.
It bravely deals with inherited trauma and repeated patterns of abuse, giving us a family story dominated by women ('men were secondary,' says Carole) but darkened by men.
Cotillard's role is illuminating, giving voice and life to this complicated character who ages and sours before our eyes.
"[56] Jan Lumholdt of Cineuropa called the film "an unorthodox yet proper piece of the grief process, deeply personal on Achache's side and compelling for the viewer, who is allowed into these private rooms.
[57] Álex Vicente of El País said that Little Girl Blue "also works as a kind of documentary about an obsessive and insecure actress — as all perfectionists are — who we watch as she tries to caress a little bit of truth, falling down but getting up again.
"[33] Valentine Servant-Ulgu of Vanity Fair France wrote that Achache "signs a singular object of cinema, of a raw and striking truth, supported by cultural and popular references", and that Cotillard "is at the top of her art.
"[38] Sandra Onana of Libération wrote that "Mona Achache recruits an impeccable Marion Cotillard to bring her mother back to life for a beautiful and tortuous docu-fiction experience.
"[58] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film is "a fascinating psychodrama — with extra scoops of meta on top — that showcases the talents of all the story's women, especially Cotillard and Achache," and praised Cotillard's performance by calling it "a full-on Method immersion that climaxes with a wrenching breakdown scene that seems to close some kind of gap between the two women.
[61] In January 2024, The Hollywood Reporter included the film in its "top 10 list of still-unsold international features from 2023 that U.S. audiences deserve to see".