Vengeance is best served cold and The Page Turner may be one of the chilliest films you’ll ever see. So much is packed into a short run time that Denis Dercourt’s searing drama leaves no room to breath. His is a deceptively simple tale of Mélanie, a young girl who fails her piano examination and, ten years later, takes an administration job at a law film. Her employer is the husband of a gifted pianist who is on the comeback trail after a troubling accident. Requiring a housekeeper and governess for their young son, the lawyer employs Mélanie who quickly settles in to the family home.

Dercourt’s sensational film recalls the tense wit of Hitchcock as he layers this absorbing psychological thriller. Cool to its core, The Page Turner extracts an exquisite brand of cruelty that distinguishes much French cinema. It recalls Harry, He’s Here to Help (2000) for the ominous tone that settles, the questions raised. There’s an air of clarity and openness to the design, even the language which is always polite. It’s a wonderful counterpoint to the sinister underbelly.

Structured like a musical score - from the descriptive opening to the punishing coda - Dercourt banks upon painstaking detail that informs his narrative, and superb performances by Frot and François. It’s a formidable combination which will disturb and enthral in equal measure. Several loose ends are left hanging, a wise choice that sets off a lightening storm of realisation when the credits roll. The Page Turner is a frighteningly good film.

// COLIN FRASER