THE PIANO
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
**1/2 (out of 4 = OK) 1993, R, 121 minutes [2 hours, 1 minute] [drama] starring: Holly Hunter (Ada), Harvey Kietel (Baines), Sam Neill (Stewart), Anna Paquin (Flora), produced by Jan Chapman, written and directed by Jane Campion.
"The Piano" is a good movie but not a great movie. Taking into consideration the elements that make up this film, it's not much more than a Victorian soap opera, full of passion, seduction, sex, and violence. It's interesting and well acted, but the elements that make it up and push it along aren't anything special. The setting is 18th Century New Zealand with Holly Hunter starring as Ada, a pale but beautiful widow who has been arranged to marry someone she has never seen in a country she has never been to. She also brings along her daughter Flora (Paquin), who provides for some of the film's best moments. Ada cannot talk, she speaks through sign language and by playing her piano. But Stewart (Neill), her new husband, won't let her bring it into the house. The piano is the major plot element and metaphor for just about everyone and everything in this film. It shows how music reflects and defines mood and attitude. When Ada is happy she plays a flowing, beautiful song, and when she is angry she slams the keys and hits the deep notes. Stewart is a shy and withdrawn man, he is not cruel, but he just doesn't know how to handle the situation. His co-worker Baines (Keitel) is the typical brute with a heart of gold, he can't read but he does understand what art and beauty are. When he hears Ada's piano he adores the music and buys it from Stewart and agrees to sell it back to Ada one key at a time if she teaches him how to play. As Ada tries to play for Baines, he keeps making sexual demands. This element is definitely erotic because of what it doesn't show, as it is an era when woman wore layers of clothes - just getting one layer off would excite a man. This is the kind of passion we don't usually get to see, and Campion films with careful craftsmanship and detail. The way that Hunter portrays this character, it doesn't seem like Ada likes Baines. She is just using him to get her piano back, so they're both being shallow. But when she does get it back, she throws herself at him and they make love. I was totally confused, it seemed like she hated him, now she loves him? Then the story becomes a glamorous soap opera as Stewart finds out about Ada and Baines and spies on them. He chops off one of Ada's fingers and sends it to Baines via Flora. The ending is predictable and not very appealing. Overall, "The Piano" was somewhat enjoyable, very well acted, but much too eloquent in its attitude.
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