Review of The Pianist (2002) by Leon B — 29 Aug 2015

Review:

I know that I'm a bit late with this movie, 13 years to be exact but now that I've watched it, I must admit, it is a powerful masterpiece. The movie is about a talented, Jewish pianist who uses all of his resources to escape from German soldiers during World War II. After splitting up from his family, he is left to fend for himself in a Warsaw ghetto, whilst fighting for food and cover. The acting from Adrien Brody was superb, especially when times were extremely hard for his character and the storyline was put together very well by Roman Polanski. I was a bit skeptical about the length of the film before watching it but it really didn't seem that long because of the detailed content and amazing cinematography. The ironic ending was shocking and surprising, which added to his amazing journey were he really hit rock bottom. I still find it hard to believe that it was a true story and it was one of those films were it takes some time to get out of that mode after watching it. Anyway, I'm not going to praise it anymore because I think you can tell that I really enjoyed it. Its hard to find a fault with the film so it has to get the thumbs up from me. Brilliant!

Round-Up:

I don't think that Adrien Brody, 42, has put in such a perfect performance since making this movie. I liked him in the Grand Budapest Hotel, Detachment, the Darjeeling Limited and Cadillac Records but his performance in this movie was excellent and he deserved the Oscar for a leading role. Personally, I like his acting style and he can comfortably switch genres with ease but the lack of good scripts are holding him back. He as proved that he can take on any challenge that is put in front of him but he hasn't hit the peak that he reached in 2002. Anyway, the movie was made by the acclaimed director, Roman Polanski, 82, who has been surrounded by controversy after being convicted of statutory rape on a 13 year old girl. Polanski then fled the USA to avoid prison so his movie making career was put on hold for some time. He's famous for making Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Frantic, Bitter Moon, the Ninth Gate and Oliver Twist but his real comeback movie had to be this one. He also won a best director Oscar for this movie but he lost out to Chicago for the best picture. Polanski had his own personal experience with Nazis during World War II were he sadly lost his mother and was separated from his father for some time so this movie came from the bottom of his heart and you really can see it on screen. .

Budget: $35million.

Worldwide Gross: $120million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their war/drama movies about a talented Jewish pianist who is on the run from German soldiers. 8/10.