Review of The Piano Teacher (2001) by Jeremyp — 01 Apr 2011
This is a movie about madness. An uptight, arrogant, caustic piano teacher turns out to be Mrs. Goodbar. We're led to believe she got this way from being under the thumb of a controlling mother, but like Black Swan the madness is too extreme to have come from suppression of the id.
At first her madness is fascinating to watch, because her fetish seems to be sexual control....of men., but unfortunately the character then disintegrates into a masochist who allows her student to get the upper hand, and let out plenty of his suppressed anger at women.
The last half hour is gruesome to watch and we learn nothing about her or the point of the movie. The ending is abrupt and maddeningly teasing. Hubbert is one of my favorite French actresses and I'm sure she took this on for the challenge but once again "madness" on the screen is used to encourage excess rather than insight.
This review of The Piano Teacher (2001) was written by Jeremyp on 01 Apr 2011.
The Piano Teacher has generally received very positive reviews.
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