La tourneuse de pages (2006)

Directed by: Denis Dercourt | 85 minutes | drama | Actors: Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory, Xavier De Guillebon, Christine Citti, Clotilde Mollet, Jacques Bonnaffé, Antoine Martynciow, Julie Richalet, Martine Chevallier, André Marcon, Arièle Buteaux, Michèle Ernou

Mélanie is obsessed with playing the piano. Her parents are simple people, but they support their talented daughter with dedication. Her father (Jacques Bonnaffé) says they will continue to pay for her piano lessons even if she fails the conservatory entrance exam, but Mélanie firmly says she doesn’t want to. On the way to the exam room, a fan asks Ariane Fouchécourt if she would like to put an autograph on the photo she has of Ariane with her. Ariane replies that it is not convenient and continues walking. The exam begins and Mélanie sits confidently behind the piano. The committee members look very pleased, with the exception of Ariane who jealously looks at the young girl. When the pushy fan shows up in the doorway and gestures that she really doesn’t want to sign, Ariane nods to the woman that she can come in. Although it happens quite gently, Mélanie is so unbalanced that she no longer comes into play and the committee rejects her.

As a young woman, Mélanie does an internship at the office of Jean Fouchécourt, who is still happily married to Ariane. Just before the autumn holidays, Mélanie has finished her internship and she can then babysit Tristan (Antoine Martynciow), the son of Jean and Ariane. While Ariane is rehearsing for a performance with the trio of which she is a part, Mélanie turns the pages for her and Ariane asks if she would like to do the same during the upcoming performance. Depending on this concert, their agent will arrange new gigs or not. ‘La Tourneuse de Pages’ is a beautiful psychological drama with a restrained, but intense violence that only erupts on a few moments. Ten-year-old Mélanie, wonderfully played by Julie Richalet, walks out of the room in which the drama took place with tears on her cheeks and looks bitterly at a girl practicing at the piano. From the way she looks, you expect her to drop the visor on the girl’s hands, but she walks past her and calmly puts on her coat. Only on the way back does she slam the valve shut, making the shock all the greater.

The young adult Mélanie is not a ‘tourneuse from hell’, but she knows how to handle psychological warfare and slowly but steadily makes Ariane emotionally dependent on her. The protagonists manage to evoke a blistering tension through their mutual fascination, admiration and aversion. Shame about the slightly disfiguring ending, but otherwise very nice.