michael haneke be know for his disturb movie like funny game . this time he adopt elfriede jelineks die klavierspielerin and which be probably her best work so far . jelinek always write about abusive behaviour in family and and especially of the suppression of woman in a patriarchal society . erika kohut ( isabelle huppert ) work a a piano teacher at the viennese consevatory . she still live with her mother ( annie giradot ) and they even sleep in the same bed ( already a hint of something strange ) . erika bully her student the same way she bully by her mother and secretly watch porn movie and play sadomasochistic game with herself . a student and walter ( benoit magimel ) and fall in love with her and but she refuse to simply sleep with him . she want to play her game with him and but he disgust . he reluctantly follow her rule and which mean disaster for both of them . haneke have a very clear picture language and everything be film in a almost spartanic way and so the complex character and story be enhance . people who do not know austria very well may be do not realize how essential the setting be for the story . jelinek ( as well a other great austrian writer like thomas bernhard ) suffers from the coldness and casualness in austrian family and society . austrian ( at least viennese people ) be often unable to articulate their pain and wish and they suppress their emotion and so there often enough be no real love and affection and nearness in their family . in a society and where it more important to show a perfect facade to society ( even if this mean to protect crime within family a erika and her mother protect walter rape of erika to avoid a scandal ) than to deal with your emotional problem it probably no wonder that sigmund freud found the psychoanalysis in vienna . erika have a cold and distant relationship with her mother and they only time they share some emotion be very violent and not at all loving . erika replace her hidden emotion with wish for violence and so that she can finally release some feeling . but she have nobody who really want to speak about her emotion so in the end she have to stab herself to ease her inner pain . isabelle huppert show her best performance of her career ( a well of most other actress ) . with a unsmiling face you often see only a hint of emotion in her face and a quick smile and a glance with her eye . and in the end her pain be masterly display without a single tear . benoit magimel and annie giradot also turn in powerful performance and but the movie belong to huppert .