Shoot the Piano Player

Shoot the Piano Player - 1960
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054389/]

The Gist:
French New Wave does a mob-esque film with satisfying results. Truffaut blends artistic sensibilities into a story of violence and intrigue, where a piano player's family is mixed up in crime and the piano player eventually slips into his brothers' destructive patterns (a la Godfather). Oh and there's a love interest in there too. In fact, the film is more about love than it is about violence, but it makes for potent backdrop. My only gripe is that the film can feel a little uneven. Is it an art-house film or a genre flick? Is it going for cheap laughs or trying to say something profound? When Truffaut tries to do it all he occasionally slips up, veering to far into melodrama or shtick. But these moments are rare. In the end, the film is a modest masterwork with beautiful moments rivaling any of its New Wave contemporaries.