Shoot the Piano Player at The Brattle

Alright a quick disclaimer before I go into reviewing Shoot the Piano Player. The movies subtitles were in white and since the movie was in black and white, I could only read about 60 percent of what was on the screen. So this might have effected my understanding or appreciation of the film more than I would know. Shoot the Piano Player is Truffaut's second film, shot right after his widely successful 400 Blows. Considered a disappointment at the time, but highly regarded now, Shoot the Piano Player is a weird little film that is parts comedy, part French new-wave and part film noir. The film follows Charlie Koller, a piano player whose brother is in trouble with thugs, as he gets entangled in his family's mess. The mise-en-scene is perfect as you would expect from Truffaut. But compared to some of his other classics, Shoot the Piano Player fell a little flat for me. Shoot the Piano Player lacks focus and personalty. At times it just seems like rather than allowing the story to flow, Truffaut takes it in unnatural directions. But overall this is still a nice send up to film noir, that shows Truffaut's strength as a director.