SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (1960)

A.K.A.: Tirez Sur le Pianiste

Country: France

Genre(s): Comedy / Crime / Drama

Director: Francois Truffaut

Cast: Charles Aznavour / Marie Dubois / Albert Remy

Plot

Restaurant pianist Charlie is pursued by two thugs who are looking for his low-life brothers.  Meanwhile, Charlie begins a relationship with waitress Lena, with whom he hopes to escape.

What I Liked

Sports fans might be familiar with the term ‘intangibles’ as it refers to those qualities in an athlete beyond the immediately measurable physical traits, the psychological and personality elements of an athlete that allow him or her to succeed where others with similar physical traits might fail.  Intangibles can exist in a movie, too.  A carefree mood runs throughout “Shoot the Piano Player.”  There’s not one single element or moment one can point to that is the source of that mood, but it is nonetheless ever-present and makes the film undeniably enjoyable.  Taken individually, the various facets of the film might seem run of the mill.  The plot is simple and derivative.  Character development is used only sparingly.  Everyday dress and locales are used.  In short, no single thing about the movie is special.  Except that coolness that inhabits every scene.

While it is not the sole source of the film’s unnamable entertainment value, certainly lead actor Charles Aznavour, who is also a very accomplished professional musician, deserves tremendous kudos for his performance of Charlie.  Thanks to Aznavour, Charlie constantly exhibits that same casual approach to life that permeates the film as a whole.  Surrounded by a supporting cast of characters that are intentional rip-offs from B-movies and film noir, Charlie’s laid-back strangeness makes him a compelling post-modern hero.

That intangible quality in “Shoot the Piano Player” has clearly had an influence on the work of many important filmmakers to follow director Truffaut.  The film’s underlying cleverness informs everything from the coolness and spontaneity of Jean-Luc Goddard, to the found soundtracks and streetwise neurotic-ism of Martin Scorsese, to the  self-referential wildness of Quentin Tarrantino.

What I Didn’t Like

Probably because of the ways in which later filmmakers built upon what Truffaut pioneered, the film does not feel quite so revolutionary on first viewing as it certainly would have in 1960.  Some of Truffaut’s groundbreaking innovations in his approach to filmmaker (improvised plot, for example) have been explored by later directors whose films I watched before “Shoot the Piano Player.”  But this movie was indeed one of the first to push those boundaries and it remains a pleasure to watch, so it wouldn’t be fair for me to harp on this too much.

Most Memorable Scene

I most enjoyed the cinematography of a montage detailing Charlie and Lena’s trip out of the city and into the countryside.  Gorgeous use of light, camera angles, setting, and soundtrack made me long for the beautiful freedom of a road trip.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5