With a gorgeous musical score, a compelling lead performance from Elijah Wood and a premise that's just strange enough to work, "Grand Piano" is a tense, entertaining and engaging thriller.
When Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) , a world-renowned pianist who has cracked under pressure before, sits down to play his comeback concerto, he finds a note sprawled in red on his sheet music. "Play one wrong note and you die."
This heavy setup happens so early in the film that it feels inevitable that the drama will fizzle out. Miraculously, it never does. Much of this is thanks to Damien Chazelle's brilliantly written script, which drives the film. Without his well-planned pacing, this premise could've easily gone stale, but tension hangs heavy in every scene, and nothing ever seems to linger on for too long.
Director Eugenio Mera does his part to keep the stakes high by shooting with long, steady camera work when needed and aggressive, dizzying cuts at other points. He captures Wood's nuanced expressions while he's performing, but he never lets viewers forget how difficult the pieces are that Selznick is flying through. During much of the film, the camera is focused solely on Selznick's hands on the piano keys.
Wood is flawless as Selznick. He sells the cold, almost unbelievable terror that Selznick is forced to face and makes the danger feel real. Less flawless is John Cusack , who, as the villain, is never able to be convincingly menacing and winds up sounding just like every other stereotypical bad guy. The rest of the supporting cast is fine. They don't hinder the film, but they certainly don't add much either.
Still, the good outweighs the bad, and "Grand Piano's" greatest strength lies with its music. The film is never stronger than it is in its moments of life-or-death tension accompanied by the swelling, painfully beautiful sound of the piano.
"Grand Piano" isn't perfect, but thanks to Wood's performance, the transcendent music and highly impressive writing and directing, it hits a lot of pitch-perfect notes.
