Adagio

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2003)

Heavy subject matter frightens people. Few dared say an unkind word about Philadelphia (AIDS!) when it first came out, regardless of the fact that it was dreadful. Folks seem similarly reluctant to find fault with The Pianist (The Holocaust!), though it's a far superior film.
Being a survivor himself, Polanski is to be applauded for his clear-eyed depiction of life and death in the Jewish ghetto, but his matter-of-factness had a curiously distancing effect on me. I felt uninvolved. It was also a brave move to omit subtitles from the German dialogue, but getting the gist of what is being said is not the same as understanding and once more I felt left out.
Further, many of the events leading to changes in Szpilman's situation remain unclear. On other occasions, Polanski labours his point and I just wanted him to move on to the next episode. He's a very good director, but he won the Oscar amidst a very weak field (and I include Scorsese's work on Gangs Of New York) - remember that this is the same body of people that anointed Ron Howard 'best director' a year previously.
Impressive at times, but uneven and occasionally sluggish and frustrating.