M. Dercourt’s chilly, relatively bloodless revenge fantasy, selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, forms an elegant, focused drama with an important moral – never mess with a kid in the middle of her piano recital.
The film opens as Mélanie Prouvost (François), a young girl from a modest background, attends an audition in the Conservatory at Versailles for a panel that includes internationally renowned pianist Ariane Fouchécourt (Frot). During the performance, the star repeatedly disturbs the youngster while she plays. Melanie, traumatised by these events, decides to give up piano for good. Ten years later, she cunningly gains entry into the Mme. Fouchécourt’s home as a child’s nanny and orchestrates a magnificently sadistic plan.
An aura of sustained malevolence puts you in mind of Chabrol, but happily, this delicately rendered chamber piece is free from crazy baroque. Ms. François is superb as the restrained villainess. Her cool-headedness and aloof manner recalls Petra von Kant in her final incarnation, a fitting counterpoint to Ms. Frot’s highly-strung emotional weakling. Without breaking a single nail, it’s the best catfight since Kill Bill, albeit a one-sided affair.