The Piano
When this movie came out in theaters, most critics acclaimed it. My local critic panned it. I decided to see it and decide for myself. After walking out, I realized that I agreed totally with my local critic. I didn't know what all those other critics saw in it. I'm pretty sure that I didn't like it because I was only 14 then (I know, I shouldn't be watching rated R movies, but I was with my dad). However, after seeing it on TV a couple nights ago, I couldn't believe how good it really was. In fact, I made myself go out and rent it to see the whole thing without cuts.
Most everything about this film works in one way or the other. The only thing I didn't like about it was Keitel. I realize that he was an essential character in the movie, but it wasn't the character that bothered me. I normally love Keitel but for some reason, his character felt distant than the rest. Perhaps it was that I thought some other actor should have played the role of Baines. Keitel almost seemed to overpower his character and brought too much sympathy and emotion to him. I see Baines as being a hard-as-stone guy who has a complexity to him that we can't tell what he wants at first. I didn't see that in Keitel.
Did that bother me? Yes, but I got over it very quickly, mostly because of Holly Hunter. Hunter plays Ada, a woman who has just arrived on a beach in a boat. In the boat is also her piano, her most beloved possession, probably even more so then her own daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin). Ada's piano is her form of communication, because as a result of some accident, she no longer speaks. To converse with people, she either signs to her daughter, or writes it down on a piece of paper in a little box she carries around her neck.
Ada and her daughter have arrived on the beach as an arrangement by Stewart (Sam Neill). The arrangement is, of course, marriage. We can see offhand that Stewart loves Ada, but she does not love him. The only things she loves is Ada and her piano. Stewart hopes that Ada will grow to love him and be affectionate, but that is all struck down as the movie progresses. It's mostly on the fault of Stewart himself, mainly because he sold the piano for land to Baines (Keitel). Baines has the piano taken to his house, and when Ada finds out, she is furious. She rips clothes off their lines and breaks things, and then writes, "It's my piano. Mine!"
When Ada goes to see the piano, Baines asks her to give him piano lessons. But instead of giving him lessons, she just plays all the time. Baines isn't upset by this, but he gives her a proposition. He would like to do things while she plays. If she allows him to do so, he will let her keep the piano. All this leads up to an unexpected conclusion that is extremely heartwrenching and tear-jerking. It is one of the saddest moments I have ever witnessed in film.
My guess is that it's the characters, created by Jane Campion, who also directed the film. Campion is the only person who was capable of filming this movie with the proper emotional level that it deserved. Any man would have started the sex scenes early on, or sped up the movie. Campion knows the characters, and she plays it at just the right speed in order to develop the characters fully. Campion has directed some of the best movies about women in film history. And this one is no exception; in fact, it's probably her best work to date.
For me, the stars are what makes the movie truly work. Holly Hunter is phenomenal and does a terrific job portraying the mute woman. Her character is very complex, yet her face shows exactly what she is thinking and what she wants. She is one of the few actresses who can really do this. Anna Paquin gives possibly the best performance by a child actor I have ever seen. Her character is also complex who wants her mother to be happy, but scolds her for seeing another man. She even tattles just to see what will happen. Keitel did a very good job even though, as aforementioned, I didn't think he was right for the part. Sam Neill was terrific as the strict husband who just wanted his wife to love him.
The Piano is rated R for graphic sexual content and nudity, as well as language and some violence. The sexuality didn't bother me that much because it was essential to show what Ada was willing to do for her piano. Also, it creates a plot twist that leads up to some very unsuspecting moments. Hunter and Paquin both received Oscars for their performances, and they were well worth it. I think Paquin had most of the weight on her shoulders for this movie, because she not only had to say Hunter's lines, but her own as well, developing both characters at the same time. But Hunter was truly awe-inspiring because she created a complete, fully dimensional character without even speaking a line (however she does narrate through her mind). That's the sign of a terrific actress.