358. Tirez sur la pianiste

Tirez sur la pianiste
Shoot the Piano Player
1960
Directed by Francois Truffaut

A woman's bare breasts were shown right before she has sex with her boyfriend.  We have definitely reached the 1950s, ladies and gentlemen.

This is the story of a pianist who gets dragged into his brothers' troubles with local gangsters. This greatly interferes with both his job as a piano player and his new love interest, Lena.  Will love triumph in the end or will our annoying siblings always get in the way of our happiness?  Watch to find out.

Surprisingly, this is actually a funny film, complete with cutaways and gags.  I haven't always clicked with the French style of humor but I did laugh out loud a couple of times.  Additionally, the dialogue is interesting and the conversations the four of them had about women were actually my favorite parts of the film.  The Book mentioned that the dialogue played out as it would in a Taratino movie and I wholeheartedly agree.

My one complaint is that I did have some problems following the plot.  This movie is based on a novel and I am sure if I read the book, lots of blanks would have been filled in.  The plots in noir films are always a bit convoluted but this film was so full of flashbacks and cutaways that I found myself especially confused.  There doesn't seem to be a decent plot synopsis on the internet of this film so I suppose the movie constitutes a rewatch.

I would still recommend giving it a try, but certainly not a favorite.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Heavily improvised by the actors.

Bombed at the box office.