The Page Turner
A frustrated musician insinuates herself into the life of the woman who ruined hers.
In this creepy French thriller, a sexy piano student takes revenge on the woman who frustrated her ambition, said Jim Ridley in The Village Voice. 'œSure, The Page Turner looks and sounds like an NPR junkie's idea of thrill-crazy hothouse fare,' but director Denis Dercourt cleverly draws us in. Mélanie, the icily inexpressive young blonde played by Déborah François, becomes a nanny in the home of Ariane, Catherine Frot's raven-haired recitalist. 'œAnyone who remembers The Hand That Rocks the Cradle will see the instruments of revenge laid out like cutlery in a slasher movie's kitchen.' But The Page Turner proves subtler than most such fare, said Andrew Sarris in The New York Observer. 'œDercourt never uses sinister camera angles to communicate Mélanie's obsession with the older woman,' and François keeps us guessing about her character's intentions to the end. The women eye each other like caged animals in several long, claustrophobic scenes during which Ariane plays piano and Mélanie turns pages. And turns pages, and turns pages, said Jan Stuart in Newsday. Dercourt tries to wring too much tension from his somewhat far-fetched premise. 'œEighty-five minutes can seem much longer than it really is when you spend the entire time waiting for a shoe to drop.'
Rating: Not Rated
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions