Two Pianos

Once promising concert pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns to his native Lyon after a long absence in Japan, where his career has gone off track. He’s here to pay homage to his mentor, Elena (Charlotte Rampling), who wants to help restore his potential. But a chance encounter with an old flame (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) sends him spiraling. Worse, when he sees her son, he’s the spitting image of the younger Mathias.

Veteran filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin (Ma Vie Sexuelle; A Christmas Tale) imbues this tangled love story with a vivid sense of the mystery underlying all relationships. It’s a romantic movie about flawed, self-destructive people who make questionable choices — and the actors respond with densely textured, revelatory performances. You love to see it.

An ideal example of what a prestige film should be… Charlotte Rampling delivers her best performance in years.

C.J. Prince, The Film Stage

An elegant mélange. Its tête-à-têtes give way to full-throated melodrama, the narrative punctuated by haunting Hitchcockian flashes, complete with Bernard Herrmann-esque swells of yearning melody in Grégoire Hetzel’s stellar score….Desplechin and his superb cast convincingly bring the angsty emotions to a place of unexpected brightness and clarity.

Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

A rhapsodic piece about love, death, music and memory.

Jonathan Romney, Screen International