Unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2011)

My husband and I decided to watch this on netflix one night as we had heard it was good. Neither of us had any expectations and figured if it won a couple of Oscars it must be decent. I had no idea it was an absolute masterpiece.
This may be one of the best movies I have seen to date. Days after I saw this movie I cannot stop visualizing the images and feeling the emotions conveyed in the film. The cinematography is breathtaking. The beauty of pre-devastation Warsaw is sharply contrasted with the bleakness of the ghetto, and it would be understatement to say how haunting the visuals of Warsaw after the bombings were.
The acting here is tremendous. Brody (who I had really not seen in anything else significant prior to this) carries the entire movie on his wan shoulders. He conveys so much with pain, anguish, hope, and loss with just his eyes. It is quite the actor who causes the viewer to feel the pain he is experiencing as a character. This was an extremely well deserved acting Oscar.
This movie is extremely depressing considering the subject matter but it is told and portrayed with grace and power by Polanski. So many scenes are powerful and haunting. To me, in many ways this is a perfect movie. Yes, I know this review is filled with hyperbole, but I simply cannot remember the last time I was so moved and impressed by a film as I was with the Pianist. See it at least once.