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La Tourneuse de pages (2006)

Director:
Denis Dercourt
COUNTRY
France
GENRE
Drama/Thriller
ENGLISH TITLE
The Page Turner
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Et spill for piano
RUNNING TIME
85 minutes
Producer:
Michel Saint-Jean
Screenwriter:
Denis Dercourt
Jacques Sotty


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Ariane Catherine Frot
Mélanie Déborah François
Jean Fouchécourt Pascal Greggory ½
Laurent Xavier De Guillebon ½
Madame Provoust Christine Citti
Virginie Clotilde Mollet ½
Tristan Antoine Martynciow
Mélanie enfant Julie Richalet

 

Review

This slick, delicate and incredibly good-looking film, written and directed by music professor Denis Dercourt, combines its affectionate tribute to music and the piano with a seductive but ultimately conventional suspense mystery about vengeance, class gaps and eroticism. The tight direction, and wonderfully detailed musical and technical aspects makes La Tourneuse de pages absorbing throughout most of its economical running time, but the psychology of the title character is too constructed and speculative, making the pay-off a disappointment. The acting is largely fine, however, especially from the two female leads. Dercourt photographs Déborah François with seductive precision, and presents her as a lolita femme fatale, giving François the cue to revel in front of his tantalizing lens. The film is at times electrifyingly erotic, but Dercourt/Sotty's script unfortunately isn't strong enough to keep up. 

Copyright © 16.2.2007 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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