The Pianist

Starring: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Michal Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman, Frank Finlay, Jessica Kate Meyer, Julia Rayner
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, War
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: During World War II, a Polish Jew (Adrien Brody) who is an accomplished pianist tries to survive while hiding from NAZI soldiers in Warsaw.

Review:

Tim: While I don't like Roman Polanski as a human being, I have to admit he's a terrific director. His World War II film, The Pianist is a powerful, moving, intense movie that shows a different side to the horrors Jews faced at the hands of the NAZIs. There are so many concentration camp movies, and I respect the message and the reminder those films give audiences. However, I'm not sure how many more of those movies we need. This film tells a similar story, but avoids the concentration camp angle. Instead, we have a man who avoids the camps, but still has to fight for his survival.

I am so impressed that Polanski manages to keep the movie moving quickly enough so that its very long run time (2.5 hours) never feels overwhelming. The movie balances intense drama with some very suspenseful moments so that we're constantly pulled into the story. I appreciate that this film was engaging enough so that it didn't feel like a chore to get through.

So much of this film's success comes from the performance of Adrien Brody. Brody is fantastic in an emotional performance where he has to carry the bulk of the film. His screen time is intense, and he manages to hold the audience's attention every step of the way. Brody might be a bit of an unlikely Academy Award Best Actor winner, but he was the right actor in the perfect part, and he very much earned that award (and beat a few worthy opponents in the process). While I still don't love him as an actor, he gave the performance of his lifetime here, and deserved all his recognition.

This film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won three- Adrien Brody's Best Actor, Best Director for Roman Polanski, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to Chicago. I am not a fan of that movie at all, so I believe anything should have won instead, but The Pianist would have been a worthy victor.

The Pianist does everything you would hope a movie like this would do- it tells a powerful story of survival set against one of the most evil periods in human history. It is a story of courage, kindness, and determination. It inspires you to connect with the good parts of humanity, not the evil parts that created this whole mess. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and was able to stay focused for its long run time.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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