Review - The Piano (1993)

The tale of elusive desires and obscure intentions

Both Hunter and Paquin are outstanding in this somewhat disappointing affair.

Jane Campion's 1993 celebrated drama, The Piano, is humane tale filled with sentiment and catharsis, but it is not without flaws. Written by Campion herself, we follow our protagonist - a 30-year old mute widowed woman named Ada (Holly Hunter), who is sold off into marriage to a man named Alistair (Sam Neill) by her father to a secluded place in New Zealand. Along with her young daughter Flora (Anna Paquin), an ardent, mature and yet a naive girl, she arrives to New Zealand's stormy coast with quite a luggage. She has brought a full-size piano with her. We are told that her piano is her only outlet of expression. Her feelings, her thoughts and her desires are all are channeled to swinging notes and melodies of the piano. It is her voice.

She is however, separated from the piano. Never fully settling in the foreign land with foreign relations, Ada grows lonely. The plot further progresses to introduction of Alistair's friend, Baines (Harvey Keitel), a European who has adopted Maori ways. Baines is immediately smitten by Ada, which makes him to bring the piano to his home. He asks Alistair to make Ada teach him the instrument. Ada reluctantly agrees, but soon it becomes clear that Baines has no prospects to learn the piano - but he rather wants to "do things" while she plays it. Disgusted at first, Ada agrees with the agreement of sexual liaisons - only to get her piano back, one key per tryst.

Then follows a string of erotic sessions. The Piano is one of the rare films which celebrate the human body- not just the female one, but even the male frontal nudity. During one scene, while Ada plays some melodious composition, Baines strolls around completely naked. The scene is bold and provocative, yet never exploitative. The sex scenes are too handled tastefully - the camera lingers on the outer door and catches the lovers in sight via a crack in the wooden frame in a voyeuristic manner. The audience is obligated to respect the couple's privacy, confined to a cage of dwindling morality -  a cage in which the main protagonists are certainly trapped.

Things set into a turmoil when Flora catches both of them while peeking through a keyhole. Furious with her mother, she communicates this falsehood to her step-father. The film's narrative reaches the climax when frustrated Alistair confronts a defiant Ada - a scene with a devastating aftermath.
Without spoiling much, that scene alone justifies an Oscar for both Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin. There is a powerful, crushing moment where Hunter's near-blank expression bursts with tremendous shock and agony. Being mute, her mouth speaks no word, but her eyes pierces your heart with a wrecking jolt. Paquin equally complements her elder actress - her remarking acting talent leaves you overwhelmed.

The problem with The Piano is certainly not with its actors, neither with its production values, cinematography or the score (which all are brilliant). But the script wanders - some sub-plots are implausible and the character do not have a clear motive for their actions. Having an uneven tone, the film sways to emotional extremes with heart-shattering highs and impassive lows. The ambiguity, the lack of clear conclusion in the end is irksome. The open-to-interpret endings work amazingly for many films, but here it does not. The Piano is deeply riveting but only at times. Campion never allows her narrative wings to soar higher into the cinematic skies

3/5