Jane Campion’s The Piano is a rich look at various forms of love. Set in the barest rural society, we are forced to focus on the evolution of extremely human characters whom it is impossible to feel apathetic towards. The strength of their roles and relationships to each other is so well formulated that you can never completely like or dislike any of them.
As the writer and director of this masterpiece, Campion exhibits amazing talent with melodrama, allowing a tumultuous emotional scale to come out of silences and intelligent body language instead of trying to force Oscar speeches out (which probably aided Hunter and Paquin in winning). The dialogue is sparse yet distinct, the actors are so brilliant you almost forget you aren’t watching someone’s home movies (except that nobody would want this kind of stuff on tape of their family), and even the music is able to set a specific perfect pitch without being heavy handed.
The Plot
Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) is sent to New Zealand with her daughter to live with a stranger. Her father has arranged for her to marry Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill) as her husband has passed away. Ada hasn’t spoken since she was six, though no excuse is given as to why. The first scene takes place as they are preparing to leave their home and Ada’s voice-over explains how she uses her piano to express herself. Her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) speaks quite well and they use sign language to communicate. Only when Ada is exasperated does she write on a tiny pad that she keeps around her neck.
They arrive on a barren shore beach and Alisdair has yet to pick them up. When he finally does, he instructs the natives who are laughing about him to take everything but the piano. Ada tries to put up a fight about this but the piano is left on the shore because there is too much cargo already to handle. Shortly after getting settled in their new surroundings, Ada and her daughter visit one of the men whom they saw assisting with the packages, George Baines (Harvey Keitel), who lives close by. They stare him down imploringly before he gives in and takes them to the beach.
At the beach George witnesses such beauty in Ada’s passion as she plays the piano for the course of an entire afternoon that he swaps land he owns with Alisdair for the chance to bring the piano back and possibly get lessons. As Ada starts visiting, George’s attraction becomes more apparent and he begins to bargain parts of the piano in exchange for what most would consider perverted pleasures of the flesh. There is eventually an affair between the two, and meanwhile, Ada’s marriage still has not been consummated.
Tensions mount for Ada as Alisdair begins to lose his patience for a lack of affection, and even her own daughter acts up out of disapproval for her actions. Then George is to be moved away…and that’s all I will tell about that. Hopefully it’s enough to peak your interest.
The Characters
What makes this film such an engaging experience are the characters it revolves around. Holly Hunter (who appropriately won an Oscar for this portrayal – did I say that already?) is superb as the complicated Ada, a protagonist who is by no means perfect. Her piano is her love as well as her voice and the music that issues from it poignantly reflects the mixture of emotions surfacing throughout the film. She is strong enough to take care of herself and tend to her daughter’s needs but isn’t always a model of virtue. You could almost call her petulant if the idea of being forced to marry a stranger and displace yourself wasn’t totally depressing. Her actions may not be fully politically correct, but they are humanely understandable.
Paquin (also a recipient of that golden androgynous statue) gets to be a dutiful yet intelligent daughter, a premature adult. That she takes responsibility for her mother’s communication has placed her on a natural course of handling adult conversation better than her peers. It’s quite humorous to watch as she makes up stories to the annoying older ladies that can’t help but hang around to force their opinion on others, and just as admirable when she refuses to oblige her mother because she doesn’t agree.
Sam Neill is able to sincerely and sympathetically play a character who is bound to discretion and doesn’t understand passion enough to give or receive it. He’s been ignorant enough to think that marriage is a solution in itself, that all things work out fine if only because he’s never experienced it but would like to do his best anyway. He may not be affectionate but he is not an ogre. It is not until after he has spied and seen Ada and George together that he tries to overtake her, and yet he still lets her go because he wants to be liked. After all, he has seen what tenderness she is capable of with George and only wants to find a way to attain that for himself. You could almost find it cruel of Ada to not even give him a chance, and yet when your love is already attached to another individual isn’t it worse to pretend?
Keitel rounds out this cast of complicated characters with a simplicity that is unlike the majority of roles he is known for, and for that he gets my ultimate respect. (Anyone see that ultimate “paycheck” film City of Industry?) First you want to be disgusted with his advances on a married woman who refuses affection from anyone save her daughter. His love for Ada is not shown through normal stereotypical channels, and is that much more real because of its originality. It’s finally enough to convince Ada, and therefore the audience. You’re almost happy for them that they have had a few perfect moments together despite the societal indiscretions.
Conclusions
I wouldn’t say this is a movie for all ages because I doubt that a five year-old would understand or sit down through scenes of a woman playing a piano, passionate though it might be. I will say that unless you are the type who is only interested in Van Damme or Schwartzenegger films, you will find something to appreciate in this soulful, lyrical look at how love and society don’t always mix well. Also be aware that there is nudity, though handled with such delicacy that you barely notice.
You will get wrapped up with each individual’s wants and have no idea how, or if, it will work itself out. And though they don’t expostulate on matters of the heart, you will share their pain and pleasure even if you haven’t had a similar experience. It’s stunning in it ability to stay original in the face of a genre that I normally dismiss as predictable and not worth my time. What I respect the most is that there are no easy explanations and no easy conclusions to any of the complicated dynamics that are set up in character interactions. All that happens does so for a reason and makes sense. The story takes the course it should instead of pandering to a Hollywood studio mindset.
The mute wife of a settler teaches her lover to play the piano in colonial New Zealand. Directed by Jane Campion. Oscars for best actress Hunter, supp...More at HotMovieSale.com
Writer/director Jane Campion's third feature unearthed emotional undercurrents and churning intensity in the story of a mute woman's rebellion in the ...More at Barnes and Noble
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.