Final Rating: 3.5/5
The Piano Accident, a dark comedy from director Quentin Dupieux, explores the world of celebrity, fortune and the internet age. Magalie (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is a young woman, born (for purposes of the film, not coincidentally) on the same day the internet was first made available to the public. She also happens to be impervious to physical pain which has garnered her celebrity status both in her native France and (thanks to the internet) around the globe.
This development arose from an unexpected turn of events as, by happenstance, upon being shown a video of the Jackass program as a young girl by her father (Luc Schwartz), she decided to take it upon herself to mimic their exploits. She films herself playing with a car battery in an attempt to electrocute herself, causing the battery to catch fire. Her father found the video and, getting a laugh from it, emailed it to some buddies who passed it along and so on and so on. Before long she became a sensation.
As the internet and technology improved she was able to capitalize further, filming thousands of short clips of her doing all sorts of dangerous things that would hospitalize the majority of us, from stunts with hammers, baseball bats and even a monster truck. Then one day there is an accident as she was trying to push the limits of her abilities to make a stunt appear truly spectacular.
As a result she is blackmailed by the sister of a crane operator Dimitri (Sava Lolov) who was there and despite being handsomely paid off, told her the whole story, one they tried to, literally, bury. Simone (Sandrine Kiberlane), Dimirti’s sister, is a journalist and in exchange for her silence, she wants to interview Magalie who has famously avoided all such press. This is hardly altruistic, as it would of course serve to garner her much attention and potential income. Magalie is infuriated at the notion, but eventually acquiesces as there is seemingly little other choice.
They meet not far from a chalet she has rented and conduct the interview, which only bores Magalie as she tires of what she feels are inane questions, leading her to eventually aggravate Simone to the point of her leaving and likely to follow through on her threat. Magalie is persuaded by her assistant Patrick (Jérôme Commandeur) to call Simone and apologize to try and calm the waters and redo the interview, though even when doing so, seems incapable of such real sentiment.
The last act devolves into much darker territory, and serves to show how far Magalie is willing to go when cornered. It also serves as a cautionary tale. She has more money than she knows what to do with, but seems miserable. Her life is devoid of real connection, estranged from her parents and surrounded only by her personal assistant Patrick. She seems bereft of joy, and even when filming her videos it is mundane, almost detached, which is suiting for the nature of internet culture and our relationship with it.
There is likely no coincidence that she is numb to pain yet gained her fame from social media, which many utilize to do just the same. Then there is of course the celebrity nature of her life and what this brings about.
Several fans sneak into her chalet towards the end and despite the nature of what they discover as she attempts to film her latest video, still take a selfie on the way out, seemingly clueless to what’s happening, but excited to have a celebrity encounter nonetheless. It questions everything from our relationship with technology to morality as nobody here is truly free from some kind of sin.
The Piano Accident was seen during the 2025 Genre Gems Film Festival.
