Review of Grand Piano (2013) by Caesar M — 09 Mar 2014

This thriller set at a concert hall is pure gimmickry, but one hell of a gimmick. Elijah Wood is all kinds of terrific as Tom Sleznick, a pianist suffering from major stage fright after playing an impossible piece ('La Cinquette') five years earlier in a performance that essentially shattered his confidence. Tom is attempting a comeback in Chicago with his actress wife in attendance, and he's gonna try and take on 'La Cinquette' with a full orchestra. And then a sociopath (John Cusack) gets in Tom's earpiece and threatens to shoot him dead if he misses one single note. On top of that, the piano itself might be haunted.

Laugh if you will at that premise but director Eugenio Mira, in tandem with the excellent cinematography of Unax Mendia and the editing brilliance of Jose Luis Romeu, keeps you pinned to your seat even when the script from Damien Chazelle, strains credulity like it's pulling a muscle. The ending is tv series lame, but up til then Wood delivers a top-notch performance that works wonderfully as a nail-biting experiment in terror and suspense. Grand indeed.