2023 Blind Spot Series: The Piano Teacher

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What I knew going in: I had seen parts of it prior from IFC's Indie Sex documentary

Erika (Isabelle Huppert) is a sexually repressed piano teacher still living with her domineering mother. (Annie Girardot) When she's not teaching music at a prestigious college, she's sneaking into sex shops, watching porn, and fantasizing about being beaten. She equates pain with sex. Then she meets Walter (Benoit Magimel) a student who pursues her.

Let's just pretend it's still June for a minute. I was at home a whopping 10 days last month and my poor blog just didn't get the attention it deserved. So to beat myself up about it, I decided June would be dedicated to this weird ass movie. 

Everything about this is SO uncomfortable. Would it be a Michael Hanke film without that feeling? I couldn't help but be reminded of the mother/daughter relationship in Black Swan when watching this. I wonder if they took inspiration from it? Everything about this is cold and unlikable but I still couldn't take my eyes off it. You want so badly to be a voice of reason to Erika. To tell her she's going about everything the wrong way, but of course you can't.

Huppert is magnetic as always. This is easily the best performance of hers I've seen. Magimel felt very green, which makes sense for Walter as a character, but this is absolutely Huppert's show.

My biggest gripe was the film's ambiguity. Parts feel lazy because he absolutely could've written something better, but Hanke has his style.  

Grade: B-

Comments

  1. BirgitJuly 6, 2023 at 11:09 AM

    I've missed you! You must be quite busy. I haven't seen this film and not sure I will. It sounds frustrating to me and I bet the ending is ambiguous

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 11, 2023 at 7:47 AM

      I missed you too! I was out of town for a few weeks, and was one of those lucky people stranded in airports because of storms lol. Glad to be back home.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99July 6, 2023 at 4:11 PM

    This was a pretty insane film to watch as I own it on DVD (though I need to upgrade that and nearly my entire collection to Blu-Ray) as it's been a long time since I've seen it. It is an intense film but this what to expect from someone like Michael Haneke. I did learn that in the last scene of the film, Eva Green is there as one of the young people who attends this concert as it was one of her first film roles. This film still makes those Fifty Shades movies look like child's play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 11, 2023 at 7:47 AM

      Now I need to go back and look for Eva lol. Cache is still my favorite of Haneke's. Nothing has come close for me yet.

      Delete
  3. joel65913July 6, 2023 at 7:56 PM

    I haven't seen this and I doubt that I ever will. I've had the opportunity and never took advantage because it just seems distasteful. Isabelle Huppert is an excellent actress but I frequently don't care for her choice of material. She's daring and that's great but some of the films I've seen where she takes those chances I've hated, this looks like this movie would add to that list.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 11, 2023 at 7:46 AM

      I feel you on her choices. I never bothered with Elle even though everyone raved about it because it just sounded like something I would hate.

      Delete

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