The Piano

The Piano (1993) - Review
I saw this when it came out because it was one of those "must see" films. I enjoyed it back then but thought it was just a bit over-hyped and not all THAT great. After seeing it again, I've changed my mind. I don't give out 5's lightly, but this film is so solid in every regard, I have to rank it with the best films I've ever seen.

The screenplay and direction - both by Jane Campion - are sublime. The screenplay is interesting in that the main character, Ada (Holly Hunter) doesn't say a word on camera. Two of the other main characters (those played by Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill) are rather the strong silent types. Anna Paquin, as Ada's daughter, delivers a superb (and relatively verbose) performance - perhaps the best I've ever seen by a 10-year-old.

Large chunks of the story are driven by the actions of the characters, as well as color/light, setting, and music. The haunting score (by Michael Nyman) feels like it's a character in the film. No surprise that it's almost entirely piano pieces, but I was surprised to learn that Holly Hunter actually played most of the on-camera stuff herself.

It occurs to me that films with the word "piano" in the title are a pretty good bet. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of The Pianist and The Piano Teacher.

While watching this film, I was complaining to my sweetie that the actors certainly weren't trying very hard to approximate a New Zealand accent. Then I realized there probably wasn't such thing as a New Zealand accent back then. In the mid-19th century, Europeans in New Zealand were likely to be recently arrived settlers from the British Isles, so the Scottish and British accents in the film are probably accurate.

If you're reading this and haven't seen The Piano, you really must see it. It is not to be missed.

(out of 5)