Running Time: 88 Minutes
Starring: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jérôme Commandeur, Sandrine Kiberlain, Karim Leklou, Gabin Visona, Morena Gosset
Across his career, French director and electronic musician Quentin Dupieux has effectively delivered absurdist dark-comedies which grab viewers' attentions. That is true of The Piano Accident, which carries a palpable desire for viewers to know what the curious title consists of. This is playfully touched upon in the opening moments, as viewers witness a piano suspended in the air, almost daring to be dropped. Then, it happens.
Viewers are then introduced to Magalie Moreau (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a social media star who built her brand on providing shock content. Recovering from a currently ambiguous accident, she hides out in a secluded mountain chalet with Patrick (Jérôme Commandeur), her devoted assistant that hopes for some peace and quiet. The solitary getaway is interrupted by journalist Simone Herzog (Sandrine Kiberlain), who blackmails Magalie into an interview after discovering why the social media star is really hiding out.
Running at a brisk 88-minutes, Dupieux casts a darkly satirical eye on social media fame in surreal ways. Front-and-centre of the tale is an effective Exarchopoulos, who brings alive this woman who is her own worst enemy. Opportunities repeatedly arrive for Magalie to take options that are beneficial to her, but she cannot get past her own bad attitude to commit to those paths. It could be easy to label her as just entitled and rude, particularly as she easily grows frustrated at not getting her own way, but there are shocking depths to her nastiness (especially when the titular event is shown in horrifying fashion.)
As somebody who cannot feel physical pain, she has taken inspiration from Jackass to transform that situation into online fame by mutilating herself on-screen. As viewers discover more about this character, the question arises as to why she still does this. Does she not know anything else to do with her life, or would she rather implode out of self-hatred instead of doing some introspection? It is a fascinating idea for a character study, but it is delivered in ways that let the feature down.
Rooting the tale are ideas of fame being a mask for people's true monstrous selves, and entitled fans prioritising the clout of seeing a seeing a celebrity over their idol's well-being. While this is well-trodden ground, a fresh execution can make even the most familiar of works stand apart, and one wishes that could be true of this tiresome piece. This is unfortunate, as this feels like fertile ground for the prolific and ever-interesting director, but The Piano Accident is not a work that is encouraging enough to like and subscribe over.
The Piano Accident premiered at Fantastic Fest 2025
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