237. The Piano; movie review

THE PIANO
Cert 15
115 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong sex, nudity, sexual assault

For a while, Mrs W seems to have only watched movies which haven't exactly lit her candle.
This is because I have tended her to subject her to independent films which have either been too arty for her taste or haven't tickled her funny bone,
Therefore, I presumed I would be to a sure-fire winner with the re-release of Jane Campion's Oscar-laden The Piano.
I was wrong. Campion's movie, which we missed on its original 1993 release because our children were very young, has its moments but both of us were surprised how mundane it is for lengthy sections.
Sure, I can understand why Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin won their statuettes because their performances are intense and convincing.
Hunter plays a widow who has agreed to a marriage to a man (Sam Neill) on a remote south Pacific island in the mid-19th century.
The two had never met and it is hardly a match made in heaven as she is mute and he struggles to demonstrate any empathy towards her.
Paquin is her vibrant daughter who translates her often angry sign language outbursts.
At the centre of her wrath are arguments over her beloved piano which has been shipped to the island and left on the beach by her husband-to-be.
Worse still, he sells it to another colonialist (Harvey Keitel) who has the hots for his by-now wife.
His rival asks  Hunter's character, Ada, for lessons and she ends up being torn between love and duty and her daughter is caught in the middle.
As said, Mrs W and I found The Piano's storyline rather turgid.
However, the performances are stirring as is the level of detail surrounding the living conditions of the early settlers who live cheek by jowl with highly suspicious and occasionally aggressive natives.
As a former Oscar contender for best picture, it was worth catching up with but it certainly will not go down on our personal lists of classic movies.

Reasons to watch: It's an Oscar winner, isn't it?
Reasons to avoid: It drags on much more than we expected

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - Jane Campion: "The woman characters in The Piano are created by a woman; Ada was my heroine. That's the reason it had the impact it did."

The big question - How good was Holly Hunter's sign language?

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