A new film from writer-director Quentin Dupieux is always a reason to celebrate, as far as I'm concerned. His films aren't for everyone, but he consistently delivers weird brilliance for those who know what they're letting themselves in for.
While far from his best work, The Piano Accident is a VERY dark comedy that makes some obvious comments on modern life, social media, and the lengths that people will go to for their fifteen minutes of fame. The brilliant Adèle Exarchopoulos plays the main character, Magalie, a young woman who has become famous for videos that have her harming herself in a variety of painful stunts. Something has happened to force her into a temporary respite though. She only has the company of her assistant, Patrick (Jérôme Commandeur), but is approached/blackmailed by Simone (Sandrine Kiberlain), a woman who wants to conduct an interview that she hopes will somehow shed some light on exactly why Magalie does what she does.
Drawing a clear through line from the "MTV generation" to the voracious content consumers of today, as well as showing how we live in a state of wanting to please others from time spent seeking approval and attention from parents, Dupieux makes his feelings obvious about what many may class as entertainment. He has no love for the numbing effect of social media, and tries to offer up a warning to those who may find themselves chasing more and more extreme ways to temporarily satisfy an appetite in a mass audience that will just keep getting hungrier and hungrier while they know that the world is one internet connection away from catering to their needs.
Exarchopoulos, awkward and unhappy throughout, is fine in the lead role, although it feels more defined by the brace her character wears throughout and her nonchalant attitude to her self-mutilation. This isn't her at her best, perhaps just a bit too confined by how unwittingly trapped her character has become. Commandeur is enjoyable in his supporting role, but Kiberlain gets the best moments, forcing our lead to really reflect on what she is aiming to achieve with her actions.
It may say as much about Dupieux as it does about what he's being critical of, and some will view this as nothing more than an old man yelling at clouds, but The Piano Accident is certainly made more uncomfortable to watch because of knowing that it feels pretty accurate. There have been a number of other films made about the impact of social media since we started to really become embroiled in it, one or two better than this, but this feels like a desperate warning, probably far too late, to those who think they can grab their slice of fame and fortune by simply acting like an idiot on camera for a few seconds at a time.
7/10
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