The Pianist is a good movie, but it’s an unpleasant one, too. The capricious cruelty of the Nazis and the horrors the Polish Jews – the “lucky ones” who weren’t sent to Treblinka – suffered are vividly rendered, and it’s a hard film to watch. It’s sad enough on its own terms as the story of an individual, but it also reminds you of the horrific creativity of the human mind in inflicting violence and pain.
Though it’s referred to as a Holocaust film, The Pianist isn’t about concentration camps. Rather, it follows acclaimed pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman as he goes from a comfortable, carefree life with his family, to being herded with the rest of the city’s Jewish population into the Warsaw Ghetto, to fending for himself in a city that he no longer recognizes. Adrien Brody is already lean when the movie starts, so he doesn’t undergo the dramatic weight change that, for example, Tom Hanks does in Cast Away. Nevertheless, his ordeal shows in his face; in some scenes, as he scraps for food among the ruins of the city, he looks like a hunted, starving animal. It hits you viscerally – as does much of this movie – to see him reduced to this existence.
It’s a good movie – well done, with good performances, and very moving, though too long. In retrospect, I appreciate its minimalism more after the excesses of Frida. But I wasn’t bowled over by it, and I wouldn't rank it as one of the best movies of the year. Brody gives a great performance, but I can’t help thinking that part of the work is done for him by the nature of the role. Still, he has to carry the entire movie and keep us with him during long periods of silence and inner reflection, and he does admirably. Of the supporting cast, Ed Stoppard as his brother Henryk and Frank Finlay as his father stand out. Brody has some nice scenes with Thomas Kretschmann, who plays a Nazi officer who helps Szpilman hide during the last days of the war.
I guess I
recommend The Pianist, but it is difficult to watch
and not really the thing to chase the winter blues away.
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