Denis Dercourt
France | 2006 | 85mins | 35mm | Colour | Subtitled
Mélanie always dreamed of being a professional musician but not having the means to study at the conservatory she attends an audition for subsidised piano lessons. Her performance however is ruined after by the thoughtless behaviour of the chairwoman of the jury, a well-known concert pianist. With her confidence shattered Mélanie gives up on music completely.
A decade later Melanie finds herself employed as an intern for a rich lawyer
whose wife happens to be the cruel judge. Impressed by her poise and dedication the lawyer asks her to move in with his family in order to take care of his young son. Undergoing a crisis of confidence, the concert pianist finds herself reassured by Mélanie’s calm presence. The younger woman proceeds to insinuate herself into the life of her former nemesis: becoming first her onstage page-turner, then her friend and confidante, and finally, her destroyer.
An acerbic and penetrating study of mutual dependence... Dercourt never releases his assured grip on this fascinating study of what drives and motivates people. – Toronto International Film Festival
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