Grand Piano

World famous concert pianist Tom Selznick returns to the stage, five years after an apparent meltdown. Now happily married but still living under the shadow of his mentor, Tom wants to prove the naysayers wrong and show he won’t choke under the pressure. However he didn’t expect that when he turns over his score sheet he will find a message saying that he will be killed if he gets any of the notes wrong. Selznick has to battle his way through complex arrangements of music, murders and microphones in order to find the truth to the person who is threatening his life.

Grand Piano is a film that wants to be a two separate genres, a Giallo in the vein of the 70s Italian classics and a modern isolation suspense thriller like Phone booth. In many respects it does both of these separate genres with ease, using their stylistic devices with a level of dexterity and wit. For the performances it is simply John Cusack who is his usual brilliant self and to be fair steals the show hands down. He is both intense and hysterical in equal measures, boiling up to peak at the right moment. It is also a beautiful looking film, with superb sets which are well designed and executed. The use of red throughout is not only unsettling but stunning and it smells much like a Dario Argento homage.

Now there are a few problems that I had with the film, not least of all Elijah Wood. As a leading man he is unconvincing and feels a little flat in the role. The extended cast feel much like that of a slasher film and seem only to pop up either to be funny, menacing or die. The first act of the film is creakingly slow and took an age to get to a point where I cared enough to commit to anything I was watching. Then there is the suspense and its ability to be held for the 90 minute length. In my opinion it doesn’t really hold, there are moments that fix you to the spot…these however are so few and far between that you find it hard to remain tense.

So, should you watch it? Well I would say watch it once for all the great stuff. It feels so much like a Dario Argento film in certain components that this alone is worth watching but it is all the other stuff that left me with a taste in the mouth not unlike that you get after being sick but after you have gone to a good restaurant. So it tastes a little nicer.