The Page Turner (2006)
"La tourneuse de pages" (original title)

Mélanie Prouvost, a ten-year-old butcher's daughter, is a gifted pianist. That is why she and her parents decide that she sit for the Conservatory entrance exam. Although Mélanie is very ... See full summary »

Director:

Denis Dercourt

Writers:

Denis Dercourt (scenario and dialogue), Jacques Sotty (collaboration)

Stars:

Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Frot	...	Ariane
Déborah François	...	Mélanie
Pascal Greggory	...	M. Fouchécourt
Clotilde Mollet	...	Virginie
Xavier De Guillebon	...	Laurent
Christine Citti	...	Mme Prouvost
Jacques Bonnaffé	...	M. Prouvost
Antoine Martynciow	...	Tristan
Julie Richalet	...	Mélanie enfant
Martine Chevallier	...	Mme Onfray
André Marcon	...	M. Werker
Arièle Butaux	...	Présentatrice radio
Michèle Ernou	...	Monique
Danièle Douet	...	Femme autographe
Mark Reed	...	Mc Guerman (as Marc Reed)

Storyline

Mélanie Prouvost, a ten-year-old butcher's daughter, is a gifted pianist. That is why she and her parents decide that she sit for the Conservatory entrance exam. Although Mélanie is very likely to be admitted, she unfortunately gets distracted by the president of the jury's offhand attitude and she fails. Ten years later, Mélanie becomes her page turner, waiting patiently for her revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

butcher | page turner | pianist | revenge | morphine | 

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Taglines:

Revenge is a dish best served cold

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

9 August 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

The Page Turner

Filming Locations:

Maison de Radio-France, Paris 16, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$18,844 (USA) (23 March 2007)

Gross:

$206,647 (USA) (15 June 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diaphana Films, France 3 Cinéma, Région Ile-de-France

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France # 11609.

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Goofs

In the last dinner the bottle of wine changes from the left to the right between shots.

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Soundtracks

"Notturno"
Music by Franz Schubert
Performed by Trio Wanderer (Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, violon, Raphaël Pidoux,
violoncelle, Vincent Coq, piano)
Harmonia Mundi France

User Reviews

Vengeance served very very cold

Melanie Prouvost (Deborah Francois) is a girl who really knows how to hold a grudge. Aged 10 she sees her prospects of a musical career go up in smoke at a piano recital when she is distracted by one of the judges, Ariane Fouchecourt (Catherine Frot), a famous pianist who thoughtlessly signs an autograph while Melanie is playing. After this failure Melanie refuses ever to play the piano again.

A decade on and Melanie, while interning at a law firm, gets the opportunity to become a live in nanny for her boss's son. Needless to say the boss's wife turns out to be none other than Ariane.

From hereon in the film plays on our uncertainty as to precisely how and to what extent Melanie intends to take her vengeance against the emotionally fragile Ariane, who of course is totally oblivious to their prior encounter. Is Melanie truly a cruel and beautiful ice maiden out for limitless revenge, or does she have a heart after all? The film keeps the tension going playfully and subtly, helped in no small measure by excellent performances from Catherine Frot and Deborah Francois. In fact about the only criticisms I can think to make are that the script could possibly have fleshed out Melanie's motivations just a little more fully, and also that there were several continuity errors regarding Melanie's dress. I don't often notice such errors, but in this case they involved the sudden disappearance of Deborah Francois' delectable cleavage, which I felt myself compelled to keep a close eye on throughout. A very minor quibble with an otherwise accomplished film.