"I think of my piano in its ocean grave, and sometimes of myself floating above it." - Ada

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2005)

The New Zealand sensation 'The Piano' doesn't move very fast but that's because it doesn't have to. Jane Campion's critically-acclaimed film is about a mute woman in the 1800s, Ada (Holly Hunter - Broadcast News) and her young daughter who narrates the film through her mother, Flora (Anna Paquin - X-Men) who journey to a small tribe town in New Zealand where Ada is arranged to marry a wealthy and stern man, Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill - Dead Calm). Ada is a shy and sad woman, but the one thing she adores more then everything else is her piano which her new husband forbids. Ada is upset and finds a way to still be able to play her piano with the help of Alisdair's friend George (Harvey Keital - Bad Lieutenant) who begins taking lessons from Ida and ends up in a tangled love affair resulting in a powerful and sad climax. 'The Piano' is a very well-written film, but it is very slow-paced towards the beginning. It's not a wildly entertaining film, but I think the movie appeals to people who find authentic costumes, designs and crafty film-making more engrossing then say car explosions. Holly Hunter is simply amazing in a role he damn well deserved her Oscar for. Anna Paquin is also extremely powerful in her role for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, making her the youngest actress ever to receive an Oscar. Unfortunately the Academy seemed to forget to nominate Harvey Keital for a Supporting Actor Oscar who was absolutely brilliant in every frame he was in. Rounding out the cast, Sam Neill and Kerry Walker are also very good. Jane Campion does an excellent job directing which earned her a 'Best Director' Oscar nomination. 'The Piano' scored eight Academy Award Nominations in 1993 including Best Director, Best Actress - Holly Hunter, Best Supporting Actress - Anna Paquin, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Picture, but was totally out-shadowed by Spielberg's masterpiece 'Schindler's List' which opened that same year. All in all I highly recommend giving 'The Piano' a shot if you appreciate the precision and craft that goes into good film-making. Grade: B+
MADE MY TOP 300 LIST AT #191