Review of The Piano (1993) by Harry W — 14 Feb 2014

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Piano, but given that Holly Hunter won an Academy Award for being the star of the full it is no surprise that I found myself eager to watch it.

I found many aspects of it to be rather strange though. For one thing I found the plot to be rather basic but full of strange little story dynamics. I mean its clearly a film more insightful for the female audiences since it deals with themes of motherhood and love from the perspective of a mute female figure who expresses much if her emotions through the art of music. But I didn't get half of it. I wasn't sure what the context was or exactly what was going on, and it just all felt weird to me. It felt like art without development, and I just didn't have the acquired taste required for the film.

The Piano was clearly a story about passion and womanhood, but while I could see the passion in the characters and in the directional work of Jane Campion, I just found that it was emphasised in a melodramatic fashion by having the predictable dramatic elements of a cliche love story combined with the pessimistic character who is mute and forcibly married to a man she doesn't love, as well as having to drag her daughter into it. I just found the story too odd and lacking in a sound structure for me to really gain anything from seeing it depicted on screen.

I really had nothing to learn or understand from The Piano and it all felt too weird to me since I found it convoluted and packed with too many story elements, most of which were cliche and melodramatic. I simply did not enjoy The Piano, and that is disappointing. And by the end of the film I just lost all sense of what was going on because I couldn't understand the motivation or the symbolism behind everything that was happening. It just reinforced the fact that I did not enjoy The Piano or understand half of it, and frankly I just ended up seeing it as an overpacked film and a grey visual experience which felt like a pro-feminist soap opera and not like an enjoyable or insightful experience.

I did enjoy the acting however.

Holly Hunter's performance reminds is that we should never underestimate the power of physical acting, because in The Piano she barely ever says a word and yet there is so much she tells us simply from her physicality, her facial gestures and the few scenes where she has Anna Paquin's character translates for her. And she has such a classically beautiful look to her in The Piano and that combined with her physical acting makes her an immense treat in the eyes all throughout The Piano. She really puts an immense effort into her performance and makes it the best that she can, and there is never a moment where she fails.

Anna Paquin had a serious responsibility in The Piano, the responsibility of being the translator for Holly Hunter's mute character. And when she speaks for her or for herself she has such a passion for what she is saying which feels so humane and natural for a child that the character she plays just seems all the more real. Anna Paquin's finest hour is in The Piano, and her chemistry with Holly Hunter is just terrific.

Harvey Keitel's accent in The Piano is so convincing and strong that it's almost like it isn't actually him, and his performance is ripe with passion and determination for acting as well as dedication to the character, so he proves to be a fine casting choice.

Sam Neill job does a decent job too.

So The Piano had been appreciated by critics worldwide, but I found it to be a cliche and melodramatic romantic drama which benefitted from the acting but not from Jane Campion's storytelling.