Cinema - The Page Turner

A defining moment in a young girl’s life: a piano examination which will win her a scholarship if she manages to keep her nerve and play as well as she knows she can. It starts well, but her concentration is ruined when one of the judges - a famous female concert pianist - thoughtlessly and noisily signs an autograph for a fan. She messes up the end of the piece, flunks the audition, and is so upset she gives up playing the instrument for good. Twelve years later, now a serious young woman, the same girl gets a job in a male lawyer’s office. She turns out to be such a diligent worker that he entrusts her with delicate job in his big country house. His wife, a famous concert pianist, needs help while she recovers from a car crash, which has shattered her musical confidence and thus damaged her career. Of course, it’s the same woman.

Revenge is a plate served up with plenty of froideur by director Denis Dercourt, whose slow-moving uncluttered film features a stunning performance from Deborah Francois, a Palm D’Or winner in last year’s Dardennes-directed L’Enfant. We learn early that the character she plays is a butcher’s daughter, who we see at work with his knife. But Francois doesn’t need to run around brandishing any sharp objects to scare the hell out of the audience: the damage she does to her early nemesis is psychological, and subtly administered. You’ll be gripped. DL