Disturbing and brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (20 April 2001)

"The Piano" is one of those rare films that reasonably intelligent and feeling adults can discuss at length while disagreeing with each other on whether the film is good or not. My boyfriend, with his British lit upbringing and reading habits, thinks the story doesn't hang together and finds nothing compelling about any of the characters. I, with my poetry and American fiction background, have plenty to think about regarding the wealth of themes and imagery woven into the film.
The movie has to be approached thoughtfully. The clues to all of the "problems" reviewers complain of are in the film -- everything from why Baines would understand a message written on a piano key to why Stewart lost control when Ada didn't do what he expected. It's all in there, if the viewer can allow the film to emerge. (Reviewers complaining about the "obvious" symbolism make me think that they are victims of a rather rigorous and unfeeling literature teacher who has the emotional subtlety of a two-by-four. I want to urge those reviewers to forget the piano and what they think it "stands for" and instead start to notice the real images.)
The film does us the favor of showing us from the beginning exactly how complex it intends to be -- combining a voice-over about silence and the strength of will, a statement that this woman has been married by her father to a man in New Zealand, a view of her tender care of her daughter and finally of her expressing herself on the piano -- and doesn't let up till the credits roll. Nothing is simple: not the relationship between Ada and Flora, or between Ada and Stewart, and certainly not between Ada and Baines.
If you aren't prepared to give yourself over to a film, skip this one. It'll be a waste of your time because it won't fit into any preconceived notions of what constitutes a "good" movie.
Otherwise, flow with it -- it'll carry you if you let it.