Layers...

Rating: 9/10 (19 May 2007)

It's amazing how many layers a movie can have. "The Piano" has enough layers for you to watch it ten times and analyze a different element during each viewing. It's also amazing how disturbing a story can be, at the same time it is touching; and how good a person can be, even when he or she is a bit crazy. I came to the conclusion that the three main characters of "The Piano" are good hearted people, but with big mental issuesBut that's just one of the layers of the film.
Set in the 1850's, the story follows Ada (Holly Hunter) and her daughter (Anna Paquin) Flora, as they travel to New Zealand, where Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neil), an intended husband she hasn't met, is waiting for Ada to begin a life with her. Ada (she explains to us during a narration at the beginning of the film where her mind is speaking) is mute and plays the piano, so when she arrives to the beach, her piano is loaded down but Stewart refuses to take it to the house; so they leave it on the beach.
There will be one person who will help her get the piano back, and that's Baines (Harvey Keitel), and that's the development of the film about which I can't say no more. The way Ada looks at the Piano (it is worth putting in capital letters because it's another main character) on the beach when she's on top of the hill as she walks to the house; that's the main element of the contemplation present in Jane Campion's direction.
Not only that beautiful shot of the lonely Piano on the beach, but the way she pays attention to the jungle or the houses, when the camera shows empty spaces; in a metaphorical way that really seems to be saying something. That's another magical element: let's call it "unexplained understanding". Through Campion's astonishing script is that we also see the layers I'm talking about. She covers a lot in such few words that Holly Hunter's look is enough to understand what's going on.
Believe it or not, I'm getting stuck with this review; but because I have many things to say. The intense character study is something from another world. Campion, both in her direction and script, makes sure that every scene has total importance, without differentiating between a main character like Ada or an aboriginal from New Zealand.
Every scene is so intense with the focus on the characters that you can't keep your eyes off the screen, even when the film is slow and depressing like no other. Whether it is in the house, on the beach or inside the jungle, each scene takes the action from ten different angles with a big number of different shots. This is Stuart Dryburgh's flawless achievement in cinematography; which includes close-ups so daring and compelling as the ones he uses now, more than ten years later, in films like "The Painted Veil".
I can't forget about Michael Nyman's score, which is not the best thing in the world, but is perfectly combined with every piece Ada plays in her beloved Piano; in order to give a continuing musicality to the picture. Now, I don't know how much Nyman wrote of these pieces Ada play, butThe moments in which she plays each of them and the way she does it and how the pieces sound; I could assure that they represent Ada's feelings in their most original form. I mean, I don't know much about classical music and that's what I'm saying. However, if those pieces existed and were at least known, their title or (as I said) their form would be incredibly connected to Campion's story.
I don't even know how much Campion knows about music, but if she doesn't know anything, it didn't affect this beautiful piece at all. Realize how much I've said about "The Piano" and I haven't even mentioned the performances. I shouldn't have to, though: Holly Hunter won a well-deserved Oscar for her performance here and it is as simple as it sounds; she doesn't speak a word. Little Anna Paquin, who is know big and talented, was also incredibly talented then with ten years old; and she also got an Oscar for it. She couldn't even watch the film when this happened because she was too young, and apparently she hasn't completely watched it yet.
Sam Neil achieves a remarkable job with a character that requires several big changes of mood and decisions; and that angry actor that Harvey Keitel is presents an unexpected gentleness as the troubled Baines. But as I already mentioned; they are all somehow very troubled. And between this troubled and frightening and confusing and violent environment, Ada sits down and speaks, through her Piano; that, as a colleague of mine said, is her own voice.