Review of The Pianist (2002) by Terence L — 11 Oct 2012

Putting aside the sordid details of his personal life, no one can honestly deny the fact that Roman Polanski is a truly gifted filmmaker. In a long list of great films, "The Pianist" ranks as one of the greatest, and it's certainly the most personal film the director has ever made.

He melds the true story of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman with his own experiences growing up in Poland during the war, and the end result is a heart-wrenching movie of almost unbearable potency. In Holocaust movies, we've come to expect the repellent violence and scenes of nauseating horror, and those moments are presented here as well in shocking realism. But, where this film's true power comes from are in the quiet, subtle moments that pull you in and break your heart. For example, the scene in which Szpilman is separated from his doomed family at a train station and wanders the street crying helplessly, or the shocking moment where he climbs a wall and sees first hand what's left of his city after the bombings. In fact, the nearly dialogue-free last two-thirds of the picture is riveting and contains the most gripping moments of the film.

Polanski is a master at pulling you into his story, and with this particular story he has enlisted the aid of Adrian Brody, an actor who speaks volumes without even opening his mouth. The Oscar was well deserved. The scope of the film is grand, but at its core, it's a personal story and it's Brody's performance that makes us empathize with "The Pianist". This is a deeply affecting film with almost as much beauty as horror.