Review of The Piano (1993) by Simon D — 30 Dec 2013

This beautiful period piece tells an erotic and yet subdued story, set in the vivid backdrop of New Zealand, and featuring a thoughtfully picked cast of characters. The story centers on eternally mute Ada McGrath (Hunter), an Irish emigrant to New Zealand, with her daughter Flora (Paquin) in tow, to marry a complete stranger (Neill).

The landscape is uncontrollably muddy, fraught with rain and fog, and is hard to traverse in petticoats and dress, which Ada obviously dislikes. Being mute Ada relies on her piano in order to gain a voice.

The only person who seems to understand this is Aborigine adopted George (Keitel) who makes advances towards his friend's new wife. Tensions boil over when they begin an affair, leading to many steamy scenes between Hunter and Keitel.

What rivets you as an audience member has to be the profoundly momentous performance by Holly Hunter. She conveys so many emotional breakthroughs without the use of speech. Though Ada can write down her emotions easily enough, and has her daughter communicate through the use of sign language, she is still very isolated by her way of communication.

Neill also gives a varied and heartbreaking performance as Ada's betrayed husband, Stewart, as he wavers between hatred and despicable lust. This is definitely an actor's film, belonging especially to the four main leads.

Paquin is even impressive, which makes sense since it led to her win for Best Supporting Actress at the tender age of eleven. This is a beautiful film that speaks on distrust, freedom, and emotional expansion at the forfeit of being comfortable, something seen before but never executed so provocatively.