THE PIANO
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1993 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin. Screenplay/Director: Jane Campion.
A couple of months ago, I finally saw Jane Campion's 1991 film AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE. I mention this only because I experienced a very similar reaction to THE PIANO as I did to that film. While I was not instantly caught up in the story, its impact grew slowly, and in fact it was not until a couple of days later that I realized what a powerful work I had experienced. THE PIANO is a bit less consistent than AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE, but it is nevertheless an astonishingly literate work, and a further step in the development of a major filmmaker.
Set in 19th Century New Zealand, THE PIANO tells the story of Ada, a Scotswoman who hasn't spoken since she was six years old. At the insistence of her father, Ada becomes a mail-order bride for Stewart, a stolid settler among New Zealand's native Maori. Ada brings with her a young daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), and her most prized possession, a piano. However, when Stewart arrives at the beach where Ada and her belongings have been deposited, he orders the piano left behind. It comes into the possession of George Baines (Harvey Keitel), a rough and illiterate laborer. He offers Ada the chance to win back her piano in exchange for some very specialized lessons, lessons which will lead to a strange and dangerous romantic triangle.
THE PIANO is so rich and multi-layered that it virtually defies immediate reaction. At its heart is a story of socially repressed desires which calls to mind THE AGE OF INNOCENCE and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, but this film strengthens that theme by thrusting its characters into an untamed setting. In Ada, we are presented with a character whose muteness represents the restrictions placed on her expression as a woman, and who can only truly speak through her music. It is only when she finds herself in the less constrained world of the New Zealand wilderness, and encounters a man who identifies with the more naturalistic beliefs of the Maori, that she is able to rediscover some semblance of her own voice. THE PIANO is filled with images of culture in conflict: Stewart perplexed by his inability to purchase sacred Maori land for what he considers a fair price; a comical misunderstanding during a melodramatic play; Stewart's outrage at Flora joining Maori children in sexually suggestive behavior. This conflict lends added texture to Stewart's attempt to lock Ada into their house, and the perplexed reaction of his housemaids. Stewart is not trying to keep the Maori out, but trying to prevent Ada from embracing their world.
As intricate as the script is, it is the intensity of the lead performances which gives THE PIANO most of its power. Holly Hunter has been trumpeted since Cannes as an Oscar front-runner, and it's easy to see why. It's impossible to describe how expressive she manages to be, in her face and with her body. The literally breath-taking effect of THE PIANO's climactic scene is exponentially multiplied by Hunter's slow, lingering reaction. Baines' role is less fully explained, a bit too typological, but Keitel shows a surprising gentleness. I may have been most impressed by Sam Neill, freed from the straitjacket of JURASSIC PARK to do some splendid acting. His tormented personality is riveting, and the scenes where he is driven to action ripple with sublimated and misdirected passion.
THE PIANO's only real stumble is the decision to begin and end the film with a voiceover narration of Ada's thoughts. Hunter's attempt at a Scotch accent is shaky, and it detracts somehow from the experience to be allowed inside Ada's head. Otherwise, Campion crafts a stunning film. Stuart Dryburgh's dynamic cinematography helps capture the power of coastline and forest, and Campion's voyeuristic camera placement is thrilling. It's no longer sufficient or appropriate to refer to Jane Campion as one of the best woman director's working; she is simply one of the best directors, and THE PIANO is one of the most haunting films of the year.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 piano keys: 9.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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