Grand Piano

When pitched the idea might have seemed novel if hardly riveting, (a concert pianist about to perform finds a note on his sheet music telling him that if he plays a wrong note he and/or his wife will be killed), but this thriller, penned by current Hot Young Thing Damien Chazelle and directed by Eugenio Mira, is surprisingly suspenseful. Indeed this is the kind of conceit that Hitchcock might have toyed with, (something similar was seen some years back when Colin Farrell found himself trapped in a phone-box with a sniper's rifle trained on him). Of course, that movie, "Phone Booth" had the streets of the city to play with; the problem facing Mira is how to keep us glued to a limited set, (in this case a concert hall), and a fixed time span, not to mention 'inflicting', on perhaps a less than enthusiastic audience, a lot of semi-classical music. That he, and lead actor Elijah Woods, as well as the off-screen voice of potential killer John Cusack, pull it off is a credit to them all. Also, for something so seemingly insular, Mira makes excellent use of the widescreen. Perhaps more destined for cult status than mass consumption but certainly worth seeing.

Tom Selznick is an acclaimed concert pianist. However, after messing up a key performance, he withdrew from the public eye. He agreed to perform again at a concert-tribute to his departed mentor. But as he began to play, he noted a threat written on his sheet music. He should play perfectly to the note, or his wife will die.

Elijah Wood plays Tom with his trademark wide-eyed style of acting. This film is practically a one-man show for Wood as all the focus was on him as he played for his wife's life while trying to psych out his unseen adversary. The constant look of fear on his face made this film work. For a non-piano player like myself, Wood's piano playing looked wonderfully realistic.

The villain was played by John Cusack, whom we only hear for the most part as his chilling voice dictated what his captive should do. Cusack succeeds to convey that sinister feel by his vocal inflections alone. We only see his face for a brief while towards the end which was honestly a bit anti-climactic.

The glamorous Kelly Bishe plays Tom's wife Emma, a celebrated actress who organized Tom's comeback event. Too bad, there really was not much for her to do here. I have to say though that I loved her haunting vocal solo (if that was actually her singing).

Actually the whole situation was impossible. While Tom was passionately playing complicated pieces, he was in constant communication with his hostage-taker via an earpiece. During certain movements in the concerto, Tom was actually able to run off the stage to go to the dressing room to investigate. He can even text while playing piano!

I don't really know what kind of superhuman ability Tom has to keep on playing perfectly while all of this stressful things were swirling around him. If you are able to suspend your disbelief in the incredibly improbable flow of events unfolding on the screen, you will get drawn into the excitement and tension of it all.

This film is not very long, only an hour and twenty minutes. The whole situation was bordering on the absurd, yet the way director Eugenio Mira staged it, urgent suspense still prevailed. The cinematography was lush. The editing was well done. The music was otherworldly in its beauty.

I enjoyed it. The middle section really had me on the edge of my seat. The concluding act was rather over-the-top, but overall this was a neat thriller that is worth to check out. 6/10.

This film tells the story of a famous pianist who makes a comeback performance after five years of hiatus. He gets threatened with death by a mysterious man during his performance. He bakes his way round his very real threat, and his stage fright. The plot up to here sounds very intriguing and engaging, and yes, the first half of the film is quite good. However, the second half loses steam, and the ending is just really disappointing. So we figure out why the guy wants the piece played, so what happens next? The film proper is just seventy minutes long, they could have at least developed the plot more, especially the ending. It's a pity, but "Grand Piano" was a nice mystery thriller that is spoiled by the poor ending.

"I play piano, this is just another gig. Nothing else." Tom Selznick (Wood) is one of the most famous concert pianists in the world but 5 years ago he had a breakdown on stage and disappeared. Finally ready to come back to the art form he loves he stages a comeback appearance. He is as nervous as he as ever been when he starts to play, then he sees a note written on his music that makes him forget about his stage fright. The only problem is that his next note may be his last. As you know by now I watch as many movies as I can without watching the trailer first. Going in I was thinking...a movie about a piano concert with Frodo, sounds exciting (sarcasm). From the beginning I was intrigued and then it hit me. This movie is nothing like what I expected at all. A movie I expected to be about love of classical music ended up being more like Speed or Phonebooth. It was tense and exciting the entire time and I really liked it more then expected. Overall, keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Very fast paced and exciting. I recommend this. I give this a high B+.

A film that has clearly started with a high concept - like Speed but playing a piano rather than driving a bus - and the plot has been fitted round that. Having started from that fairly ludicrous premise, you might hope that the film would either embrace it and not take itself seriously, or find clever twists to add. Unfortunately it does neither. It's short enough to avoid being boring, and competently shot and acted, but really has very little to offer.

It's hard to think of the target audience for this - a run of the mill thriller based around classical music? - and I am mystified by its inclusion at the London Film Festival.