Soppy romance.... and yet brilliant!

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2014)

I was a bit unsure whether I'd enjoy this movie when my wife rented it out. It sounded a bit too romance-soppy for my tastes. But I have to admit it confounded my expectations. I think the setting, deep in rural New Zealand at the time of the colonists, was so original that it brought something completely new to the familiar love triangle story line.
And of course, of course of course, what a wonderful performance by Holly Hunter. It was a stroke of genius to make the lead actress dumb. It makes you concentrate on all the other parts of her performance. Her movement, her expressions, her decisions. And the piano as an emblem works well. The supporting performances from Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill and Anna Paquin are excellent too.
I can't say this movie is perfect. It does, as I predicted, have that soppy storyline after all. But it's incredibly well done, very refreshing and certainly worthy of those Oscars.