The Page Turner

Dir: Denis Dercourt

2006

****

Still waters run deep in Denis Dercourt’s subtle and slow-burning revenge thriller. Dercourt, an accomplished classical musician and is clearly interested in how musicians may suffer through the demanding hours of practice, the merciless competition, the terrifying concert night with its inevitable accompaniment of stage fright and how the musician's suffering may engender suffering in others. His previous film, My Children Are Different, was the austere study of a parent who was brutally demanding of his musical children to the point of revolt. In The Page Turner, we follow Mélanie Prouvost, a young girl who aspires to be a pianist. Her parents are supportive but not pushy. On the day of her big audition for a place at a conservatoire she is distracted while playing by the famous pianist Ariane Fouchécourt (Catherine Frot) who arrogantly (and rather disrespectfully) signs an autograph for an admirer during the recital. She leaves the audition with her mother, shattered and heart broken. She locks her piano and ultimately gives up on her dream. Some years later Mélanie (now played by Déborah François), having studied hard, finds a work experience placement at a solicitors. Perhaps coincidentally we find the husband of the famous pianist for whom she previously auditioned. The story develops as the young woman ingratiates herself into the life of the family, becoming a holiday carer for the young son who the family hopes will follow in the footsteps of the mother as a famous pianist. Befriending the boy, Melanie encourages him to prepare a full piano recital performance for the father's return to the family home after a business trip – pushing him a little too hard which leaves him physically damaged. She also manages to become indispensable to Ariane, both practically and emotionally. Melanie's perfectly timed page turning, combined with her composure and apparent empathy, enable Ariane to recover a confidence in performance that she thought she had lost after a traumatic car crash. A very close and intimate relationship is established between the two women with Mélanie becoming obsessed with Ariane in order to get revenge for the humiliation that she suffered as a child. She manages to seduce Ariane and then abandons her but twists the emotional knife by revealing the relationship to Ariane's husband. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Dercourt successfully combines the tension of vicariously experienced performance anxiety with the suspense of awaiting an act of revenge to be unleashed. In this film, all is bright and clear on the surface, but a mere walk down a corridor to an indoor pool can be heavy with foreboding. Not once does Melanie reveal her thoughts throughout the action of this incredibly engaging story. Déborah François’s performance is one of such extraordinary deftness that the revenge she wreaks is brought upon her 'persecutors' by their own actions. There is just the hint of a social comment around the social and economic class differences between the pianist and the page turner. Melanie is clearly a Leveller. In a sense, Melanie gives a virtuoso performance, dedicating herself to the quiet study and execution of her plan. Melanie leaves, dignity intact, after delivering the ultimate cure for narcissism. It reminded me of such excellent and diverse films as The Piano Teacher, Notes on a Scandal and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. However, while The Piano Teacher is a very different film I can’t help but go it it for a direct comparison and Michael Haneke’s film wins every time. It is a fine revenge film but I wonder whether it was that clever assuming every aspect was pre-meditated. I’m glad there was no blood-shed though and the conclusion is more than satisfying. I’m sad for the film though, as it was released at the same time as Notes on a Scandal which totally overshadowed it. It is a somber and elegant tale of revenge, making is quite unique and a little darker in many respects. I think the film only works due to the balance between François and Frot’s performances. François plays the part straight from beginning to end never once letting her guard down, so still and tightly wound she seems able to inspire confidence or destroy it with a blink of her eye while Frot gives a fascinating performance as both villain and victim. She is utterly egocentric, and we hate her for it initially, but there were times when I felt sympathy for her. I definitely felt the presence of Claude Chabrol in Dercourt's film and wonder whether he could be his natural successor, if only he could make as many films in quick succession as the famous French master could.