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
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to 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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
It's not just ice quantity that climate change affects. It's also quality.
Under the Radar Ice is getting thinner and frailer
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
What's behind Trump's last-minute merch push?
Today's Big Question With just weeks to go before the election, Donald Trump is spending the waning days of his campaign hawking a suite of new products, from silver coins to cryptocurrency
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kamala Harris' plan to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy
the explainer Tweaks, rather than sweeping overhauls, characterize the Democratic nominee's proposals
By David Faris Published