The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (R) ★
A female piano teacher at a prestigious Viennese school lives with her mother in a modest apartment yet is bedeviled by sadomasochist urges, including solitary forays to the local porn parlor, that lead her into an abusive and violent relationship with a handsome young student and to her own self-destruction.
Story
Erika is a gifted pianist in her 40s who teaches at a prestigious music school in Vienna. But her private life is far from gilded. She lives in a cramped apartment with her overbearing mother and secretly visits the local porn parlor to watch hard-core movies. She is also masochistically driven to inflict harm on her own body and to be a Peeping Tom at the local drive-in, where she watches a couple making love in their car. After she reluctantly supports the acceptance of handsome young pianist Walter as a student at the conservatory, they enter a twisted and abusive sadomasochistic relationship, in spite of Walter's apparent genuine love for the older Erika. The piano teacher's pathology is so extreme that she surreptitiously puts cut glass into the coat pocket of another student, who then ruins her playing hand when she thrusts it into the pocket. This disturbed and sadistic heroine's despicable and graphic behavior resonates way beyond the film's wonderful music and great performances, bringing down what would otherwise be a quality movie.
Acting
Isabelle Huppert, one of France's greatest and most prolific film actresses, is extraordinary in what can only be described as an extraordinarily challenging role. She gives a terrific and convincing performance, as does Benoit Magimel as the handsome young piano student who falls under her diabolic spell and into her sick and manipulative web of erotic shenanigans. An intense turn from French legend Annie Girardot as Huppert's controlling mother is also top-notch.
Direction
German director Michael Haneke does a fine and convincing job directing the peculiar goings-on but must also take the rap as having anointed himself the adapter of this strange novel by Elfriede Jelinek. Haneke directs his actors convincingly and intriguingly and his adaptation also convinces, more thanks to the actors than to direction or the underlying material. Haneke's evocation of the world of classical music and training, including a soundtrack rich in the music of such masters as Schubert, Bach and Beethoven and shots of musicians performing these beloved works, is effective, especially as counterpoint to the far-from-lofty teacher who is an ironic cog in this sublime process.
Bottom Line
This cinematic oddity may have bagged several of the top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, but its themes of sexual violence and self-destruction make it a strange and off-putting tale.
To get the full Quicklook Films experience, uncheck "Enable on this Site" from Adblock Plus
box office top 10
Civil War Released: April 12, 2024 Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura 11.1M
Abigail Released: April 19, 2024 Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens 10.2M
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Released: March 29, 2024 Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry 9.5M
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Released: April 19, 2024 Cast: Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez 9M
Spy x Family Code: White Released: April 19, 2024 Cast: Takuya Eguchi, Saori Hayami 4.9M
Kung Fu Panda 4 Released: March 8, 2024 Cast: Jack Black, Viola Davis 4.6M
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Released: March 22, 2024 Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon 4.4M
Dune: Part Two Released: March 1, 2024 Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson 2.9M
Monkey Man Released: April 5, 2024 Cast: Dev Patel, Sikandar Kher 2.2M
The First Omen Released: April 5, 2024 Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy 1.7M