Review of The Piano (1993) by Angie R — 24 Oct 2014

Jane Campion likes the grotesque. In most of her movies some characters are always distinctively weird in looks and behavior. The Piano is no exception. Main character Ada, played ferociously by Holly Hunter, is a bit of freak. Stubborn and self-contained she "decided" to remain silent from age six and never spoke a word since.

She also managed to produce obnoxious child Flora out of wedlock, so her father is packing her of from Scotland to New Zealand, where she will get married to Alisdair. The official story is that she is a widow. Let us not forget that these are Victorian times, so there is nothing strange in sending Ada to the antipodes to cover up for her indiscretions.

Once in New Zealand, Ada continues to make trouble, starting a reluctant affair with Alisdair's neighbor, George (Keitel, in another naked role). The fact is, Ada loves only her piano (her "voice") and Alisdair decided to leave it on the beach where she disembarked, while George decided to have it transported to his hut.

Considering miles of uphill walk on muddy ground, Alisdair's decision does not seem so unreasonable, but Ada dislikes him for this. Sullen and cold, Ada is sending conflicting messages to those around her. First she is shocked by George's fondling, then she is intrigued. Unfortunately, creepy Flora gets jealous, also shifting her alliance, but from Ada to Alisdair. Her action brings the movie to its climax. A sort of puzzling happy ending shows Ada insisting to have the piano dropped in the sea and attempting suicide, for reasons hard to understand.

Some beautiful landscapes and hunting music hardly make up for the fact that most of the movie is shot in claustrophobic and dark rain forest and three out of four main characters are creepily weird.