Grand Piano

• Silly. Preposterous. Ridiculous.
• Such is Grand Piano’s plot. Yet, the film doesn’t fail, mostly because it is effective B-movie fluff.
• Make no mistake, though. Grand Piano’s on screen events are implausible, if not impossible.
• A classical pianist playing difficult movements while afraid for his life and carrying complicated conversations with the man threatening him? Evidently, it’s not that hard.
• An audience, which has presumably paid great sums of money to hear this concert, not caring when said pianist repeatedly storms off stage? Absolutely.
• The same pianist playing complex music one-handed while typing a text message, unseen no less, with the other hand? Not even challenging.
• And worse? Yes. Pretty much anything is possible, if we consider this movie instructional.
• The plot, in other words, is foolish enough that Grand Piano should be unable to overcome it. But it isn’t, at least not entirely.
• Partially because of the actors. Elijah Wood (Tom Selznick), Kerry  Bishe (Emma Selznick), Alex Winter (the Assistant) and John Cusack (Clem) each energize the picture with sufficient seriousness.
• In making several interesting directorial decisions, not the least of which are compelling and unconventional camera angles, Eugenio Mira helps as well.
• Perhaps Mira’s most effecitve decision is the arc shots that frequently circle objects and people, creating in the audience a sense that Clem (Cusack) sees everything, from every angle. It is the same feeling Tom (Wood) must confront.
• Between the director and actors, in other words, Grand Piano is imminently watchable and plenty entertaining.
• Even if it is far from classic cinema.
• Final Grade: C+