The Piano

R

Released Nov 12, 1993

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

90%

71 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After a long voyage from Scotland, pianist Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), are left with all their belongings, including a piano, on a New Zealand beach. Ada, who has been mute since childhood, has been sold into marriage to a local man named Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill). Making little attempt to warm up to Alisdair, Ada soon becomes intrigued by his Maori-friendly acquaintance, George Baines (Harvey Keitel), leading to tense, life-altering conflicts.

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Critics Consensus

Powered by Holly Hunter's main performance, The Piano is a truth-seeking romance played in the key of erotic passion.

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Leprechaun K

Considering it was made 30 years ago, the movie didn't age well in my opinion. The writing didn't make a whole lot of sense, especially the bits involving the natives. There was little depth regarding the indigenous population. The implied acceptance of infidelity (particularly for a period piece) was a put off. Not sure what the all fuzz was about at the time of release, but to me, The Power of the Dog was much better movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/24

Full Review

Farah R

Holly Hunter's performance is the only admirable quality about Campion's The Piano, a dull and disturbing period drama that sucks the joy out of the movie viewing experience. It's baffling how such a film scored so high among both critics and average audiences. It's one of the worst movies I've ever suffered through.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/16/23

Full Review

Emilliano Jr S

A timeless masterpiece!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/11/23

Full Review

Ben D

What emotions are conjured from the imagery of a repressed, Victorian woman playing a piano on a secluded beach? Holly Hunter, a classically trained concert pianist, is the mute (by choice) protagonist, Ada. Ada and her daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), are sold to a frontiersman (Sam Neill) in New Zealand in the mid-1800s. The piano is Ada's only release from a society that doesn't value her. Through the piano, Ada finds passionate love with a Scottish settler, George (Harvey Keitel), a man who has learned the Maori language and even indulged in a few facial tattoos. Through touch, George draws Ada's attention away from the piano and reminds her that sex is good. Back in 1993, the "sex scene" still mattered. With this couple, approximately half of it is seen through the voyeuristic gaze of Flora, and then, more scandalously, through Alisdair's (Neill). Marketed as a love story, I find Ada much more interested in her blossoming sexuality than just in George as a man. Had Alisdair not been such a weirdo and possessed an iota of the passion as George, it's reasonable to believe he and Ada would've had a healthy relationship…once getting over the whole infidelity thing, of course. Ada's message to George only comes after Alisdair displays a lack of sexual interest in his wife. His wife is the operative language there, and although Alisdair doesn't seem interested in becoming a husband, father, or partner whatsoever, he cannot bear knowing Ada's love for another and resolves to ruin her life not by killing George, but by removing an index finger with an ax. The climax is shocking and thrilling and the writing was smart not to have Alisdair narrate his intent, making his dragging of Ada to the stump that much more suspenseful. However, I really did believe the whole hand was coming off when I realized what he planned to do with that ax. Paquin as a little girl is fantastic and makes the movie better as a child actor whereas so many have to just not make it worse. There's something visceral about a child completely nuking a situation when they honestly believe they're doing the right thing that will almost make me pull the covers up to my eyes. They don't seem to make love stories like The Piano anymore.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/23

Full Review

Don J

This was honestly one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/05/23

Full Review

J D

a movie that very conveniently promotes infidelity, got rewarded at the Oscars for its performances (great) and its silly and shameless screenplay.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/23

Full Review

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Jane Campion

Director

Holly Hunter

Ada McGrath

Harvey Keitel

George Baines

Sam Neill

Alisdair Stewart

Anna Paquin

Flora McGrath

Kerry Walker

Aunt Morag

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Anthony Lane

New Yorker

From a distance, "The Piano" seems too preposterous for words; but then, as Ada knows all too well, words merely get in the way.

Sep 6, 2018

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

Hunter's gothic heroine is complemented by Stuart Dryburgh's dark cinematography and gaspingly restrictive widowy petticoats.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 27, 2018

Full Review

Lizzie Francke

Sight & Sound

This is cinema that fills every sense.

Jun 20, 2018

Full Review

Dann Gire

Chicago Daily Herald

The Piano is Campion's most accessible film, yet mainstream audiences spoon-fed on formula love stories will find themselves wondrously lost in its unpredictable turns of events and its explosive, spontaneous sensibilities.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 21, 2022

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Phoenix

Marking New Zealand's Campion as one of the world's great filmmakers, The Piano boasts unnervingly brilliant performances by Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and an uncanny child actress, Anna Paquin. It's the best film of the year.

Sep 21, 2022

Full Review

Thomas Bourguignon

Positif

In film after film, with ever-increasing depth and intensity, [Campion] invites us to contemplate human beings lost in the sleep of reason.

May 3, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

After a long voyage from Scotland, pianist Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), are left with all their belongings, including a piano, on a New Zealand beach. Ada, who has been mute since childhood, has been sold into marriage to a local man named Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill). Making little attempt to warm up to Alisdair, Ada soon becomes intrigued by his Maori-friendly acquaintance, George Baines (Harvey Keitel), leading to tense, life-altering conflicts.

Director: Jane Campion
Executive Producer: Alain Depardieu
Screenwriter: Jane Campion
Distributor: Miramax Films, Cinemussy
Production Co: Australian Film Commission
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 12, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.3M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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