Shoot the Piano Player

Tirez sur le pianiste
1960
Les Films de la Pléiade
Director: Francois Truffaut
Length: 81 min.
Format: DVD
Date Viewed: 29 January

Dull even at 81 minutes, Francois Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player tries way too hard to blend various genres and to be inventive, and it shows painfully throughout. The film does have some truly funny scenes and a couple of clever moments, but it's generally forced and flat as a result. The characters are all one-dimensional and bland, with the only exception to the one-dimensionality being the lead, Charles Aznavour, but his character is certainly not interesting. He is played as a straight-man but is strangely given no comedic yin to his yang. The French New Wave certainly had its successes, but this film sure isn't one of them.