Shoot The Piano Player Analysis

The film Shoot the Piano Player (1960), starts with scene of a moving piano that develops a happy mood for the film. The piano plays a significant part for the film, since it’s the first thing that viewers are going to remember about the film. Then there is a shift in sound from the music to the sound of a person running that creates a dramatic effect, because the scene is completely dark with only the headlights from the car to guide the viewers through the setting of the scene. In the opening scene, the camera follow Charlie’s brother, Chico on the streets of France in a urban area as he runs from a mysterious car. The opening scene maintain a natural lighting. There are moments where the camera could only see Chico, when he passes by the …show more content…
The shoot of the name Charlie Kohler, gives the impression that he may be the main character of the film. In most cases, the camera does not make signs known unless it’s important to the character story. When Chico went into the café, Charlie was not surprised to see his brother by his face expression. He is used to seeing his brother when he is in trouble and need help from him. Chico and Charlie keep a distance between each other, which represent their relationship as brothers. In this local café, filled with people, Charlie is in his element. On the piano, he is playing the same exact song that was in the opening sequence, which implies that Charlie was the one playing the piano. The director could have been hinting about Charlie’s character, like as a character, he hides behind his piano. Even though, Charlie is in his comfort zone with is piano, he seem unhappy from his little to no expressions. After Chico tells Charlie about his situation, he still keep a calm exterior. Its only when Charlie plays the piano, his personality and feelings shows. Charlie’s strong attachment to his piano gives the impression that it might be a time, where his piano is not going to stop him from showing his true …show more content…
The woman seem to have feelings for him by the way she talks to him, and her body language. But she then leaves to dance with another man. Chico’s antics and statements does not bother Charlie, he just keep on playing the piano. In the previous scene, Chico was fascinated by marriage, after his conversation with the stranger about the stranger marriage. He starts to ask the woman that he just meet about marriage in a casual tone. But she was more interested in Charlie for his talent rather than his true self. Charlie’s only interaction he has with people is through his piano. Chico and Charlie are the main characters, but the director catches other moments, like the couple on the dancefloor in the café. It’s like a miniature story within the story. The woman that was introduced in the beginning that greeted Charlie, appeared again with the same guy. The couple antics added a comedic element to such a serious moment with Charlie and Chico. It was unanticipated that it made the story more interesting. In another shoot, there is these two guys observing the women in the room as they dance. The camera close up shoots of the lower half of the women body is supposed to be the eyes of the guys looking at the women. The woman continue to show Charlie that she have an attraction towards him, but he just ignores the signals purposely. Throughout the scene, he did not