dir. Jane Campion
The Piano
Words By Kate Ingram
There are perhaps a handful of films whose imprint on the psyche is so great, that a viewing will be forever remembered and their mere mention enough to evoke an intense emotional - even physical - response. For many, The Piano belongs to this group. Jane Campion’s third feature film to follow Sweetie and An Angel at My Table, The Piano was awarded three Academy Awards, the Palme
d’Or and established Campion’s reputation as a leading - if not, the leading - woman director. Certainly, The Piano would take its place in film history. Its raw power for the ‘non-critic’ viewer, however, went beyond the prizes, beyond the hype. 2013 marked The Piano’s 20th anniversary; now it is released on Blu-ray. Has The Piano stood the test of time? Is it deserving of the reputation that precedes it? Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) is a mute woman sent to New Zealand in the mid-nineteeth century to enter an arranged marriage with colonist, Alistair
Stewart (Sam Neill). Ada tells us, via voice-over, that she hasn’t spoken a word since the age of six. “But I don’t consider myself silent. That is because of my piano.” Apart from private sign-language that Ada shares with her daughter Flora, Ada’s beloved piano is her principal mode of expression and communication. When Alistair refuses to transport the piano from the beach onto-
which they have arrived, Ada’s sense of being is irrevocably shaken. Holly Hunters’ piercing eyes linger on the piano, stranded amongst howling winds, crashing waves, foreboding mountains and mysteriously lush wilderness. This unsettling, yet intoxicating “otherness” of Campion’s Antipodean landscape (evoking a Brontë-esque gothic romance, or adult fairytale) introduces the themes
of repression and liberation, power and subordination, desire and passion. Campion’s story and characters are extraordinary: expertly observed, nuanced and developed (Campion won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, as did Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin for their performances). The Piano’s ultimate, timeless success though, is its intense emotional and sensory power over the audience.
Relishing her artistry (and Stuart Dryburgh’s talents as cinematographer), Campion exploits images and sound (or lack of), creating a formidable duo rich with meaning and suggestion. We feel the lashings of rain on Ada’s face as her wedding photo is orchestrated; the squelch of mud dirtying her previous clothes, still ringing in our ears. When landowner George Baines (Harvey Keitel)
takes Ada and Flora to the beach, we experience Ada’s freedom and sensuality as her fingers dance on the piano keys until dark. As her eyes close and a smile illuminates her face, Michael Nyman’s penetratingly haunting score invites us to do the same. Central to the unconventional beginnings of Ada and Baines’ love story (“There’s things I’d like to do
while you play”), the piano slowly becomes a separate character within the film; Ada’s longing for Baines soon needs no words, nor the piano to communicate them. Arguably, Campion allows Ada a more contemporary, exciting sexual awakening than she might have had, possibly anticipating criticism regarding female objectification. Campion subverts the familiar
“male gaze”: Flora first witnesses Ada’s physical relationship with Baines, before Alistair (who cannot be intimate with her himself). Ada’s “female gaze” of Baines’ naked body is crucial to the eroticism of their encounters, and calls to mind Frannie’s (Meg Ryan) sexual awakening in Campion’s later film, In The Cut. Similarly, here, the threat of violence lingers. Yet, the warm glow of Ada
and Baines’ intimate scenes, coupled with Campion’s still, respectful camera, indicates a tender love. On many levels, The Piano is a masterpiece. As a period drama, it doesn’t appear dated. The same challenge remains: to watch The Piano and not be affected; to watch it, and not experience a variety of emotional, even physical reactions. Cue Michael Nyman.
THE PIANO Blu-Ray out May 19th. Accompanying the stunning HD transfer are brand new extra features including an interview with Jane Campion and a making of featurette. With thanks to StudioCanal.