Erika Kohan teaches piano at the Vienna Conservatory and though in her late thirties still lives with her monstrous and repressive mother, with whom she shares a tempestuous relationship. Erika has constructed an aloof and unapproachable aura which enables her to remain emotionally disconnected from those around her, but one of her students is about to introduce her to a world of passion and unleash an explosion of need and desire. 'The Piano Teacher' is an intense story of emotional and sexually discovery, that borders on the self-consuming. Huppert in the title role is nothing less than hypnotic and proves without doubt that she is one of the finest dramatic actors around.