a brooding brody eloquently stars in a film that has been done many times before.

Rating: 6/10 (29 January 2003)

First, let me state that this is my first review on IMDb - so the film touched me enough that I feel compelled to comment on it.

Second, Adrien Brody was excellent.
However, films about the German horrors against European Jews are not a new thing. There are very few people who will see this film that have not already seen others (i.e. Europa, Europa, Schindler's List). Because this film is likely not a wide release it can't claim any role in being a "learning tool" for those ignorant of the horrors of WWII. Therefore, I think Polanski did the story injustice by inserting too many blatant acts of brutality.
The film marginalizes itself with these obvious acts into a wartime horror film, instead of dealing more abstractly with the true impact of war on a single human or family.
The film does not pick up until the second half when the pianist is forced to escape on his own. It doesn't deal enough with the problems encountered by those harboring Jews (only very briefly alluding to it) and could have done more with the German officer character who truely becomes this person's saviour.
In all, the film is well done. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was right about the trailer when he said it seemed like a "Holocaust film". Nothing of such historical significance should ever be reduced to a formula.