Year: 1960
Accolades: One of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die; Francois Truffaut Made It
Review on Letterboxd: 'Shoot the Piano Player' review by Avalanche
While the premise of the film is based on a novel, apparently there was a degree of improvisation in making it. While it gives the first two acts a certain degree of charm, by the time the third act comes rolling around everything starts to feel a bit muddled. The fact that the film never really had a clear direction when it was being made really shows.
The tone constantly shifts from comedy to thriller to love story to drama to film noire, never really knowing what it should be. There's a lot going on in the film, but none of it ever really manages to give the film any substance. And without that substance, it's hard to be satisfied after having watched it.
That's not to say that it's a badly made film. Truffaut's production work is excellent, with wonderful cinematography, whimsical dialogue delivered just right, and the occasional side track into the somewhat absurd. It all works in the context of the scene it is in, but each element feels disconnected from the others in a way.
To recommend whether you should watch it or not is a difficult question. I think in the end you should, even if it doesn't work, because it's a valiant effort on the part of Truffaut to try and do something different, and in the end while the film as a whole may not be all that enjoyable, there's probably something in it worth seeing anyway.
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