Classics with Riley! This Week: Shoot the Piano Player

I attend an arts magnet school, where I major in cinema. As a part of that class, every week I have to watch and critique a movie from an approved list of thousands of movies. Though the list features some movie from the 2000's, I usually do an old movie because they're easier to find online for free. As such, I will be writing reviews of them to add to our esteemed site. These reviews will generally be shorter gratuities compared to the normal reviews, but they may sometimes be the only ones I'll be able to post in a week. You'll just have to deal with that, I got things to do.

Alright, I'm just going to come right out and say the biggest factor this film has going against it: it is French. Like, so French. You don't even know. I mean, if you took Ratatouille and added surrendering and body odor, it would only be half as French as this movie. 

Okay, once you get past the insulting French-ness of Shoot the Piano Player, it's a pretty good film. 

The plot revolves around Charlie, a French piano player in a French bar (see? Right there, already!). A shy loner, he's content to sit there every night and play his tunes, until one night his also French brother comes in, chased by seriously pissed of gangsters. In helping his brother escape from them, he ties himself into their conflict, upsetting the balance he'd achieved in his life. That same night, he winds up walking home Lena, a waitress at the bar, who has loved him since she met him.

Now, this movie moves pretty slowly. There are some action scenes, but, like most French New Wave films, much of the time is spent examining love and sex and relationships and cigarettes (I'm almost certain there is one in every scene).

Also in the style of the French New Wave, the editing is a little unfamiliar and possibly unsettling for some viewers: jump cuts are employed frequently, as are creative narration techniques.

However, if you can stomach these distinctions without them being distracting, this movie has many good parts for you to enjoy. Themes are explored delicately, without imposing any specific opinions on them. Also, despite the slow pace, the plot is quite gripping, especially if you sympathize with the characters as I did with Charlie. I'd definitely recommend it to those of you who can appreciate what films like this contribute to cinema, and have high French-tolerance levels.

Overall Score: 8/10