Ao Lado da Pianista

"LaTourneuse de pages" aka "The Page Turner", (2006) directed by Denis Dercourt is a clever, elegant, entertaining French psychological drama/revenge/thriller, short but satisfying. It was made by a writer/director who has been a professional musician, both a performer and a teacher, who knows and loves classical music and makes it a very important part of all his movies. Prélude en ré mineur by Johann Sebastian Bach and Shostakovich's opus 67, trio in E minor that sound in "The Page Turner" are marvelous.

The film brings to mind such excellent and diverse films as "The Piano Player ", "Notes on a Scandal", and "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" but it is very good on its own terms thanks to the pitch perfect performances by two main characters and supporting cast and exquisite subtlety in exploring the familiar subject of long awaited and perfectly executed revenge. 19 years old Belgian actress Déborah François gives an absolutely stunning performance as Mélanie Prouvost, a self-possessed, attractive, efficient, and well mannered young woman with a sweet quiet smile, refined soft voice, graceful movements, impeccable taste and appreciation for fine quality of things. Mélanie is very observant, smart, and it did not take her long to become an indispensable asset, a trusted page turner for her new boss, Ariane Fouchecour (Catherine Frot). Ariane is a renowned concert pianist who now performs in a trio and is vulnerable and fragile after having survived an auto crash. Little did Ariane know that the girl who had charmed the whole family with her tactfulness, efficiency, and loyalty, has a long memory that goes as far as ten years back when young Melanie (Julie Richalet also gave memorable performance as young Melanie) dreamed of becoming a famous pianist, tried to pass the Conservatory entrance exam with Ariane as a president of the jury. Melanie got distracted by Ariane having signed an autograph for a fan during her performance and failed the exam. She never touched the piano again and she never forgot the day and the person that had changed her life ...

Both actresses were outstanding, and François was a revelation in her only second role which is also her second award winning performance in the row. One of the reviewers mentions that she "almost out-Hupperts Isabelle Huppert" as the page turner. The gifted young actress justly deserves this praise. I hope that she has a great future ahead of her and I will be waiting for her following movies.

This is a French movie and why I selected to see this movie was because it was running for a long time in Amsterdam. I thought that it must be a good movie. I had seen the trailer earlier and as I do not understand French I found it to be a homely movie. But that was not the case, when I read the reviews before seeing the movie – I understood that it was a thriller.

So I got more interested and went to see it. The usher of the hall – looked like did not expect a colored Asian to come and see this movie – may be she did not see any in its 14 week run in the theatres. So when she saw me – she stopped me to check whether I am entering the right hall or not – and yes I was – I was going to see a French movie – La tourneuse de pages – meaning the turning of pages.

It is a beautifully told story about a young gifted girl who is a very good piano player. She wants to get admission in a music school – but fails at the admission test because one of the lady jury member is arrogant not to give an autograph to her mother, but to show off in front of other jury members – gives autograph to someone in the middle of this girls performance; in turn unintentionally distracting her and loosing her concentration, ending up not being selected. This leaves a deep scarce inside this girl's mind, who abandons playing piano.

The next scene spans after 10 years, when this girl is grown up and is appointed to work in a lawyer's firm. The owner of the firm is the husband of that female jury member because of whom this girl was not able to pursue her interest in music - playing piano. The remaining part of the story is about this young girl's revenge to this lady jury member. The young girl is played by beautiful Deborah Francois – who plays every emotion of the innocent young girl's character with perfect ease and comfort. All the credit to the director Denis Dercourt who uses images to transfer the thoughts going on the character's mind with such ease on screen. The story unfolds – we as audience expecting what are the next thing this girl is going to do? I would not tell the tactic the girl uses – it is really very interesting and people who want to study the portrayal of psychological intent on screen – should study the scenes, characters and the on screen incidents.

At the end of the movie – I was actually waiting for something more to happen and was disappointed that the movie got over so fast. Full credit to the other character of the lady jury member – Catherine Frot – who has displayed a decent, typically wealthy lady's character – by going into the skin of what this elite people do or behave.

Worth watching.

Melanie Prouvost (Deborah Francois) is a girl who really knows how to hold a grudge. Aged 10 she sees her prospects of a musical career go up in smoke at a piano recital when she is distracted by one of the judges, Ariane Fouchecourt (Catherine Frot), a famous pianist who thoughtlessly signs an autograph while Melanie is playing. After this failure Melanie refuses ever to play the piano again.

A decade on and Melanie, while interning at a law firm, gets the opportunity to become a live in nanny for her boss's son. Needless to say the boss's wife turns out to be none other than Ariane.

From hereon in the film plays on our uncertainty as to precisely how and to what extent Melanie intends to take her vengeance against the emotionally fragile Ariane, who of course is totally oblivious to their prior encounter. Is Melanie truly a cruel and beautiful ice maiden out for limitless revenge, or does she have a heart after all? The film keeps the tension going playfully and subtly, helped in no small measure by excellent performances from Catherine Frot and Deborah Francois. In fact about the only criticisms I can think to make are that the script could possibly have fleshed out Melanie's motivations just a little more fully, and also that there were several continuity errors regarding Melanie's dress. I don't often notice such errors, but in this case they involved the sudden disappearance of Deborah Francois' delectable cleavage, which I felt myself compelled to keep a close eye on throughout. A very minor quibble with an otherwise accomplished film.

I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Once you can get past the implausible beginning that sets the stage for the rest of the film it becomes a good psychological thriller. Mélanie is a talented young pianist giving a conservatory entrance exam recital that is cut short by being distracted by the thoughtlessness of a famous concert pianist who is one of her judges. Years later as a grown young woman she puts herself in a position to seek her revenge on the woman who was that judge at her recital exam when she was a young girls aspiring for a career as a classical pianist. Déborah François as Mélane gives a good performance as the page turner and although it is a one-dimensional performance I guess that is what the role calls for. Catherine Frot is very good as Ariane, the concert pianist on whom Mélanie plots her revenge by inserting herself into her household and career. Very good music from Jérôme Lemonnier who wrote the score for the film. Additional piano pieces from Bach, Shostakovitch and Schubert. Dennis Dercourt directs a story he co-wrote with Jaques Sotty. The story has it's flaws but overall it delivers as a good film that I would give a 7.5 out of 10 and recommend it.

I think these days the audience has forgotten how minimalist a film can be to achieve effective and powerful stories. "The Page Turner" reminds us of just that, in a era where films under 2 hours are often deemed as too short.

Clocking in at 70 minutes, this is a great, neat little piece of work with solid performances throughout. Deborah Francois is has a natural cool and a hidden Machiavellian glint in her eyes that is only subtly conveyed throughout the movie, and her seeming lack of emotions is frighteningly real. This is a revenge story, and is a no nonsense script, helped further on with beautiful choices of music and great camera and directing.

It conveys a powerful message on the nature of revenge how easily we humans come to lean on one another, emotionally and psychologically. Betrayal is the worst for a person to experience, and here the betrayal and revenge of "The Page Turner" is delivered with the grace of a real master of intrigue.