Grand Piano

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.

"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+.

The amount of inconsistencies and wildly implausible things in this film, not even related to the story but related to the art of piano playing, really shouldn't be addressed. The film doesn't take itself seriously and clearly seems to know how preposterous it is, and it doesn't care. It has a hell of a lot of fun in what its doing, and by that I mean I did. There's a vibrant energy to this that really makes it pop and work like music in the best scenes, those scenes involving the tense plot work along with the concertos being played. It's really interesting and doesn't feel half-baked like so many thrillers do. Very fun film, definitely recommended.

Suspenseful? -- not so much. But you will want to watch to the end because there is just enough happening to keep your attention.

This is an odd little movie with Wood playing a rather nervous pianist about to perform one of the most complex and challenging music compositions ever written. Then he discovers his life is on the line.

My problem was the constant running off and on stage during the performance because he appears to suffer more from a bowel or bladder issue. He is constantly up and down and running around throughout the concert but always back --- just in time for his piano playing! It got funny after awhile.

The set is pleasing and there aren't many surprises in the plot ... but watch to the very end because something happens!

Here's a director who knows how to shoot a film and he directed the hell out of this silly script, but you can throw the fanciest camera tricks at a dog of a script -- but good looking nonsense is still nonsense. This is one of those high concept screenplays that seems churned out by an automated software writing program, not a human who actually sat down to write this. Elijah Wood gives a one note (pun!) performance and he's either miscast or just downright boring as our lead - though his hands do a convincing job. An off screen for most of the film John Cusack is our villain who will shoot Mr. Wood and his pretty little wife if he plays a wrong note. Cusack's expository dialogue over the last act of the film, explaining his motives are eye rolling and the remaining 15 minutes seem like the automated writing software malfunctioned when character motivation and narrative collided. A dumb, harmless film.