The Piano Teacher

Michael Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher” unfurls a cold, clinical study of sexual repression and psychological torment. Isabelle Huppert stars as Erika Kohut, a virtuosic pianist ensnared in a toxic relationship with her mother, a dynamic Haneke renders with clinical detachment. When a young man, Walter, takes interest in Erika, their affair stirs dormant desires and violence within her. Haneke’s rigorous, unflinching gaze captures the erotic and the abject with equal measure, crafting a portrait of a woman whose internal world is as fractured as it is fascinating.