“Shoot the Piano Player,” an internal study of an artist, in a gangster picture format, by François Truffaut

Talk about a picture that is brilliant in terms of subtext, and one that is fundamentally about something far deeper than the actions that are happening on the surface.

I watched Shoot the Piano Player by François Truffaut last night. What a brilliant picture. Phenomenal. These courses that teach film and scriptwriting talk about subtext. Talk about a picture that is brilliant in terms of subtext, and one that is fundamentally about something(s) far deeper than the actions that are happening on the surface. I’ve probably seen it 4–5 times now. If you haven’t seen it, it’s only an hour and 20 minutes runtime roughly. I recommend it.

Charles Aznavour plays the main character, who goes by Charlie (but was previously Edouard in a past life). Aznavour brings a certain charisma to the character, even if the character is relatively humble and, as the picture discusses, timid. Aznavour passed away recently in 2018, but he was a French icon — as a singer. So he works well — he has a look, that of an everyman artist, with a quiet charisma, and a quiet melancholia.

The film’s plot is driven by the chase of 2 gangsters, but it is not a gangster picture per se in the sense of a Melville, for example. The film is fundamentally an internal exploration of Charlie, his fears, his life as an artist, and his as-yet-unrealized points of growth. I especially enjoyed the symbolism of Charlie’s 3 brothers, the flashback to the past which is probably a fear story in Charlie’s head, and questions about whether his calling to art is an excuse preventing him from a real relationship.

Symbolism of Charlie’s 3 brothers

The first thing I like about this film is the symbolism of each of Charlie’s 3 brothers.

Chico is the first brother we meet. To open the picture, he is the one running down the street from the 2 gangsters chasing in a car. It is made clear early on he is always getting mixed up in a “jam” or a “pinch.” His very name, “Chico,” which means “boy” or “kid” in Spanish, suggests that in some way, he hasn’t grown up..he has an immaturity about him.

There is an immaturity with respect to women and relationships that is opened up in the film. One gangster in the car ride, after “kidnapping” Charlie and Léna (Charlie’s love interest), is the women-as-shiny-objects guy, who is a crane-neck while driving. The other gangster prefers other kinds of exotic shiny objects, as is revealed later in the car with Fido, such as his lighter that plays music, and other one-of-a-kind, imported contraptions.

Together, the gangsters represent a crassness and baseness, a first level egoic-ness, a chase-shiny-objects element of human nature. They chase Chico and thus are his mirror, and this element of Chico and the gangsters is also present deep inside Charlie. These elements are most manifested in Charlie during his “phase” as a famous concert pianist, during which time he would chase and stare at women.

Fido is the second brother we meet. He lives with Charlie. At first we suspect he is Charlie’s child, but later we learn he is a brother. Fido, obviously with a name typically reserved for a dog, represents Charlie’s inner (or creative) child. This is the happy by nature part, but the part that will throw a tantrum when neglected. It’s the part that steers Charlie back to playing the piano, which is his divine art and calling, and the thing that will allow him the peace and monetary living, although humble, which will take him (and Fido) forward.

Richard is the third brother. We only meet him briefly, towards the end, when Charlie goes back to the country house of their parents. There, the 3 brothers are reunited. Richard is an older name, more common in the past. So he represents Charlie’s past, his origins, possibly his heritage, and possibly some kind of destiny even. Again, like the ego and the inner child, his family origins and heritage never go away, they are always with him, a part of him.

In the end, Chico and Richard are chased away by the gagsters. Charlie is left with Fido, his trusty inner child, who leads him back to his divine instrument — the piano. Perhaps this symbolizes that the artist can, and perhaps ultimately must, leave the ego and past/heritage ties behind, to follow and practice his art, his creative inner calling.

Flashback to the past, or a story in his head driven by fear?

The past is literally recreated as a flashback sequence in the middle of the picture.

It shows how Charlie, who was then Edouard Saroyan, met his former wife at a restaurant. We see them happy together while he is just a piano teacher and she a waitress. We see him go buy books on overcoming fear and timidity. Then, an Impresario magically comes into the restaurant and invites Edouard to his office. Edouard goes to the office, but then hesitates at the door and follows the woman that has just left the office. This shows fear just before a breakthrough, but also a vapid women-chasing that Charlie describes later as something he did while famous.

Ultimately, we do see him playing on the big stage behind a grand piano, playing Liszt, Debussy, etc. Upon becoming famous, his relationship with his wife sours. She complains about him constantly talking about himself, his fame, the critics, competition, etc., born out of being self-absorbed and insecure, both of which are fear-driven.

She also reveals how she slept with the Impresario in exchange for him putting Edouard on the big stage and making him famous. She feels terrible about what she’s done, and jumps out the window to her death.

It is actually Léna, the girl who works with Charlie at the bar, who has a crush on him, with whom he romances and ultimately falls in love with, that discovered his past and reveals it in the picture. After the flashback, she says, “Charlie is dead. Edouard lives!”

She clearly wants to bring Edouard back to life. Charlie is indifferent when she says this, and he asks “for what?” Léna says “for us,” and goes on to reveal she was an orphan and grew up poor. She clearly is interested in having money and a better life, and leaving her job at the bar.

Upon reflection of this part of the film, one realizes that this sequence can be viewed as a fantasy. It could all be in Charlie’s head. In other words, it is a story, one of any number of stories, that Charlie could tell himself because he is afraid of success, taking initiative, and getting out of his comfort zone.

Later in the film, Charlie kills Plyne, the bar owner, accidentally, and out of self defense. Plyne is jealous Léna likes Charlie, and has a macho mentality to be seen as the one who wins the fight. Plyne tries to suffocate Charlie, and Charlie just saves himself.

This just saving himself is similar to his working at the bar. He’s willing to fight to save his life and earn a living, but is afraid of fighting for more than that.

The need of an artist to practice his art, or a fear of romantic commitment?

One way to see the picture is around Charlie’s need to make his art, his life passion, which is playing the piano, his first priority.

In this light, picking up the instrument, the sacred object, is his peace, and the way he moves forward in his life, no matter what happened and how tragic the past may have been.

The inner child, represented by Fido in human form, needs to be protected and nourished, and will throw a fit if it is neglected. But Fido never gives a tantrum, because Charlie plays the piano.

When Charlie first comes to the bar and is sweeping the floor, and sees the piano, he sees it as sacred. He dusts it off. When he is playing it, he is one with it. He is in a state of play, or flow, and the flower is the music that comes from it.

This is his equilibrium. It is how the film starts, and how the film ends.

However, the piano can also be viewed in different light- as his spouse of sorts. In the picture, his romantic interests die. In the flashback to his former life, which might be in his head, his wife jumps out the window. Léna is killed in the end by the gangsters as she runs to save him. This is another way to possibly see the picture, that Charlie is not only afraid of success, he’s afraid of romantic commitment with a woman.

Or perhaps more poignantly, he’s afraid of his inner carnal nature. There is one point where Léna says, “I like you, because you’re not like the others.” She implies she likes his shyness and the fact that he doesn’t act like a womanizer like the other guys. He says, “deep down, I’m just like the rest.”

There is another scene in particular, where Léna is talking back to Plyne, telling him off and giving him a piece of her mind as she quits the job. Charlie, in a voiceover of his inner dialogue, thinks about “saving” her from her overdoing it, but instead, drifts over to the piano. He takes solace in the piano, his sacred object, the thing he knows best and brings him a sense of peace. Again, this can be seen as the nature of the artist, needing to constantly make their life passion their first priority, or it can be seen as not standing up and retreating from his partner when she needs his help, back into his comfort zone, thereby symbolic of why the relationship will fail.

Conclusion

Again, great symbolism and subtext from Truffaut, and en engaging and thought provoking story which asks questions about fear, the nature of man, and the nature of the artist. Charlie has grown enough to answer his calling as an artist, but perhaps is using that as an excuse for not growing further and in other aspects of his life yet.