'Page Turner' is briskly paced

THE PAGE TURNER — ** 1/2 — Deborah Francois, Catherine Frot; in French, with English subtitles; not rated, probable PG-13 (violence, brief sex, brief gore, brief drugs).

A "page-turner" is a book so good — or at least so diverting — that it defies you to put it down before you finish it. And like such a book, the mostly diverting French import "The Page Turner" is briskly paced.

Unfortunately, it also has a curiously unsatisfying ending, and there's some material that leaves a somewhat scuzzy patina.

The film is a thriller set in — of all things — the world of classical music. The title character is Melanie Prouvost (Deborah Francois), a once-promising pianist whose chance for bigger things was destroyed in an instant when a thoughtless judge, Ariane Fouchecourt (Catherine Frot), ruined her concentration, causing Melanie to flub a big audition.

Years later, she gets a chance to exact revenge. Ariane's husband Jean (Pascal Greggory) has hired Melanie to be the new nanny for the couple's young child, Tristan (Antoine Martynciow). Melanie also offers to turn pages of sheet music for Ariane as the veteran pianist prepares for her own big audition.

Strangely, the film is nearly free of dark humor. You might expect at least some of that, considering some of the ironic situations in which the characters find themselves. Co-screenwriter/director Denis Dercourt instead plays up a lesbian subplot, though thankfully it's mostly subtext.

Still, his film does boast good performances by the two female leads. The growing relationship between the characters is believable, thanks to Frot (1998's "The Dinner Game") and Francois, who's a rising star in Europe thanks to her turn here and in the 2005 drama "The Child."

"The Page Turner" is not rated but would probably receive a PG-13 for a brief scene of violence (a stabbing), brief sexual contact, brief gore and brief drug references. Running time: 81 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com