Review of The Pianist (2002) by Connor _ — 09 Mar 2011

You can certainly see the dedication Adrien Brody made to this role, as Nazi-era Polish-Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman. However, the same can't be said for director Roman Polanski. I get the feeling, whether right or wrong, that this film is modeled off of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece 'Schinder's List'.

The latter is one of the greatest films of all time, bested only by about 5 or 6 films. 'The Pianist' however, loses its momentum very early on and its length, unlike 'Schindler's List', is promimently notable.

As Brody goes from one unsafe place to another, everything sort of rings the same note, and the only different/memorable scene is when Thomas Kretschmann's Nazi captain shows up unexpectedly, followed by an entertaining piano solo by Brody.

Kretschmann also gives a notable performance, although he doesn't show up until the end of the film. Ilness and malnourishment or repeated over and over again, and I realize they were in real life, but I wish the screenwriter would've found some way to somehow make it something more.

B-.