Jane Campion’s multi-award-winning 1993 film ‘The Piano’ is released in ultra high-definition by Studiocanal. It provided star Holly Hunter with an Academy Award, and a Best Supporting Actress win for eleven year-old Anna Paquin truly put her on the map. Thirty years ago, female filmmakers were relatively rare, and Jane Campion was one of the few directors to cut through in the mainstream.
Revisiting ‘The Piano’ three decades since it was made, it’s not hard to see why it captured the imagination on its inception and came to be considered a modern classic. New Zealander Campion places her country’s history and amazing topography in the foreground of the film. Stunning yet aesthetically-contrasting sequences take place on a golden beach and within dense verdant forests where it seems to rain perpetually. The visuals are sumptuous throughout.
The story is set in the mid-1800s. Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter), mute following a trauma, has been sold into marriage by her father. She arrives on a foreign shore with her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin). Maori tribesmen bring her possessions ashore, but her new husband, frontiersman and forester Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill), says that the piano is too heavy to be carried and has to be left. Ada lives for music, and is distraught that her piano is abandoned on the beach, but her silent protestations are in vain. Nevertheless, it sets up an unhappy and cold marriage between her and Alisdair. When Alisdair’s neighbour George Baines (Harvey Keitel) learns of Ada’s longing for the return of her piano, he comes to an arrangement with Alisdair and brings the instrument to his property. This gives him the leverage to develop an arrangement with Ada that she can play the piano in return for lessons, and sexual favours, behind Alisdair’s back. Ada is trapped between the cold possessiveness of her husband, the raw and sensual demands of Baines, and her desire to play her piano. Conflicting emotions tear her in different directions.
Although the basis of the plot is a classic love triangle, there is nothing straightforward about ‘The Piano’. Nor are the characters and their motives presented in a cosy black and white fashion. There are no good or virtuous people in the world of Campion’s film, but rather each one is a complex jumble of selfishness and self-sacrifice. Out in the untamed wilderness of the forest, passions run high and bring out long-dormant feelings.
The relationship between Ada and her daughter Flora is just as compelling as the interplay between Ada and the two men vying for her love. Although the mother/daughter bond is entirely credible, there is a troubling inequality to it. Flora is not only her mother’s interpreter, she also at times tries to act as her conscience in order to prevent Ada from landing herself in yet more trouble. By the end of the film, Ada is making decisions that give no thought at all to the welfare of her child. That element, and the deeply unsavoury relationships between Ada and the two men, neither of which is chivalrous, provide audiences with plenty of food for thought. There is a maturity to the storytelling and, for cinema, a rare complexity to the characters that feels more like it belongs to literature. Save for Anna Paquin’s sensitive portrayal of young Flora, there aren’t any characters audiences automatically sympathise with. Instead, the stunning cinematography and vivid landscapes belie a darker heart at the centre of the film.
Another component that helped the film to register in the public psyche is the score. Michael Nyman’s distinctive piano solo piece has become ubiquitous, but it remains undeniably powerful. The music recalls both the tumultuous relations Ada has with the men in her life as well as the changeable nature of the land and the climate she must survive in. The film has stood the test of time, helped no doubt by the period setting. The female leads undoubtedly deserved their Academy Awards, but the actors have enough material to make an impression. With Jurassic Park among his other credits in 1993, Sam Neill had a great year. In ‘The Piano’ he gets to show aspects of his range rarely seen on the screen – cruelty, anger and manipulation. Nevertheless, he is a subtle actor, and instils within Alisdair enough inherent decency to ensure that he is, as with the other characters, suitably enigmatic, leaving audiences conflicted about his fate. Harvey Keitel grabs the opportunity to do something different with both hands. Not only is his Scottish accent impressive, but every other aspect of his performance too. He immerses himself into the role of Baines, and plays the shift in his attitude, which changes Ada’s feelings towards him, with consummate skill.
‘The Piano’ is a film of standout moments that leave a vivid impression in viewers’ minds. The overall impact is one of aesthetic beauty intertwined with emotional brutality. There are imperfections, notably periods of stillness where the pace drops or frames are repetitive. One moment suggestive of the supernatural feels oddly ill-at-ease with the world of the film, and that had the effect of taking me out of the story momentarily. But despite one or two reservations, ‘The Piano’ is a stunning near-masterpiece. Its moral ambiguity will leave you thinking about it for days afterwards, and the performances marry together explosively. This cast plays brilliantly off one another.
Studiocanal’s brand new restoration looks and sounds stunning in 4K UHD. To appreciate the full effect of the vivid New Zealand locations, the film has to be seen in the highest definition. This release also contains a host of extra features. This includes brand new interviews with cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh, whose contribution to the success of the film cannot be overstated, as well as with production designer Andrew McAlpine and Maori advisor Waihoroi Shortland. An interview with Jane Campion and Jan Chapman, along with a ‘making of’ and ’25 Years On’ have been included on earlier iterations of the film’s releases for home entertainment.
Cast: Holly Hunter, Anna Paquin, Sam Neill, Harvey Keitel Director: Jane Campion Writer: Jane Campion Certificate: 12 Duration: 120 mins Released by: Studiocanal Release date: 5th September 2022 Buy ‘The Piano’
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