A gifted pianist is given a second chance to shows her musical sensitivity in this French drama.
I am constantly trying to give foreign language films a fair chance when it comes to my screen viewing. It is likely that you, reader, will either be thinking "Jolly good thing, I should hope so!" or "Why bother. Stick with Shrek". I am pleased to say (with no pompousness meant) I belong to the first trend, and regularly seek out little know French gems, obscure Ukrainian jewels and the odd bit of German gold. The Page Turner is a French film that, for all it's potential, never manages to get to what it wants to say. The build up is hurried enough to make you frown a little, and when you get onto the real story there is a sense of "something big or bad is going to happen" but unfortunately never quite does. I love dramas that are about people and their feelings, emotional torment and its consequences. The type of genre that usually wavers between being pretentious or brilliant. This film is certainly not pretentious, but the brilliance mark, although within sight, is not quite met.
We are introduced to the would-be-heroine, Melanie, as a child when she is in her audition to music school playing the piano. She is distracted by one of the judges, famous pianist Ariane Fouchecourt, who inadvertently ruins her concentration mid piece. Ten years later Melanie gets a job as an au pair within the household of this pianist, and we are to believe she is out for revenge. When she becomes Ariane's page turner (turning the sheet music pages), and gets asked to turn for her upcoming performances, she realises she has a large amount of power over her. Ariane convinces herself she can only perform well when Melanie is near, the reasons for this are never fully investigated, but link to Ariane's past traumatic experience in a car accident and her possible feelings of romance towards Melanie. These feelings of romance are also vaguely touched upon. I am by far suggesting it needs full on lesbian sex scenes, which would lower the tone of the film to something more sordid, but the narrative stays the more irritable side of suggestive. Even so, this film is still worth watching for the dreamily calm way the story sweeps along, inviting you into its web of sexual tension and buried emotion. It's just a little disappointing some of the emotion remains buried for the entire film.
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French psychological thriller. Embittered by an event from the past that thwarted her musical ambitions, Mélanie (Déborah Francois) prepares to exact revenge against the person she holds responsible - distinguished concert pianist Ariane Foucherot (Catherine Frot). Masking her grudge behind a coolly professional exterior, Mélanie insinuates herself into Ariane's life and becomes her personal page turner, while she waits for the right moment to unleash her terrible retribution.
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