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The Pianist 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Roman Polanski
R, 148 min. (violence, brief strong language) |
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Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Ed Stoppard
Producers: Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde
Screenplay: Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman
Distributor: Focus Features
Released: 12/27/02 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
The impact of Roman Polanski's near masterpiece The Pianist is not felt through extended torture scenes or the horrors
of the gas chambers as depicted in Spielberg's Schindler's List or even this year's other Holocaust film The Grey Zone;
instead its unforced bleak, stark, and nonmelodramatic portrayal of one man's fight for survival is haunting because of
what the film does not do. Surprisingly, some critics have missed the entire point of this film's stance on the Jewish plight
under the evils of the Nazi regime - its detached and unsentimental nature is exactly what Polanski chose to show; he
deliberately shot the film through the eyes of a man, the famous Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, who recalls what
he saw and experienced. This is not a film about the gas chambers or the horrific depths of Nazi atrocity - this is a picture
that takes a cold, hard look at war through the viewpoint of one desperate Jew. For Polanski, The Pianist is a validation of talented
filmmaker whose scandal-ridden career has been renewed with newfound respect.
Polanski is a Holocaust survivor and waited for the right opportunity to exorcise his hidden demons on the subject. After
turning down Spielberg's offer to direct Schindler's List in 1993, he found Szpilman's autobiography a few years later compelling,
thereby justifying his own involvement in a motion picture because Szpilman's plight was more aligned with his own memories
on the subject. He believed that survival had more to do with random chance than anything that one's own will could provide.
Indeed, Szpilman's escape from the death camp seemed more a stroke of good fortune and opportunity than anything
preconceived. The Pianist is a direct result of Polanski's own vision of the stark reality that faced most Holocaust survivors.
The film revolves around the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), one of Poland's great musicians, whose family
endured the early years of the Warsaw ghetto before being shipped by train to the death camps. At the film's beginning we
see the Jews' freedoms taken away, at first slowly, then quickly as they are forced to wear armbands with the star of David
emblazened on it. When the Germans arrive, 500,000 Jews are herded into the cramped quarters of the ghetto, where
disease and hunger become rampant. It's not long before they're being shipped out for extermination, but Szpilman is
saved from boarding a train by a man in the Jewish police force (those who helped the Germans keep order) and soon
becomes part of the labor unit that is left behind. His eventual escape and efforts to hide from the Nazis in the city are
chronicled through his eyes - we see the war tick by through images and moments from his perspective, mainly from the window
of his apartment hideout just across from a Nazi hospital. Once the city is bombed and destroyed, he finds himself wandering
the ravaged streets desperate for food and shelter. Ironically, his survival depends on the sympathy of his enemy in the form
of a Nazi officer.
Polanski fashions The Pianist with a strange combination of wit, cruelty, desperation, and of all things humor. When we
see Szpilman walking through the wreckage of Warsaw with a can of pickles under his arm, searching for shelter from the
retreating Nazis, our instinct is to laugh at the utter absurdity and poignancy of this image in light of the death that permeates
every scene. By this time Szpilman is a frail ghost of a human being, nearly insane from hunger and disorientation. At the
film's critical moment when he confronts a Nazi officer (Thomas Kretschmann) while trying to open his can of food, his
expression turns to resignation that he has indeed found death after all. It's at this moment that Polanski finds the perfect
alignment for his picture - the cruelty and absurdity of war is trumped by the irony of an enemy who shares his view on the
pointless nature of war, especially against a specific people. Szpilman's ensuing impromptu performance on the piano is
one of the year's most moving scenes - the music and his counterpart's expressions entail completely the plight of his
survival through years of oppression. Szpilman's realization of hope in the face of hopelessness
is a priceless theme that makes The Pianist unforgettable.
Szpilman is brilliantly portrayed by Adrien Brody, who is best known for his work in Bread and Roses last year. Polanski's
decision to choose a relatively unknown actor is master stroke for a film that needs a fresh face to make it completely
real to the viewer. He plays the part with convincing realism, never forcing out-of-place expressions when
unnecessary. Under Polanski's direction, Brody embodies the quiet desperation that surely inhabited most Jewish survivors
at the time; he's just a man trying to make it through another day. What the evils of war inflict on him is fully realized here,
as his once intelligent, well-mannered sophistication has been transformed into someone who can barely speak and resembles
a man who has spent the last few years on a desert island. Without his effective performance, Polanski would not have
the malleable clay to mold his gripping picture.
The Pianist is Polanski's intensely personal effort, and it's obvious that every frame is carefully constructed for maximum
effect. His desire to get the material right must have been akin to Spielberg's own life-altering direction of Schindler's List,
only Polanski was dedicated to conveying the frustrations and fears of one man, as if he himself was there alongside
Szpilman's every turn. His efforts are haunting because they encapsulate the claustrophobic nature of Szpilman's plight -
most scenes take place indoors in cramped quarters with gunfire and explosions just outside the window. That his
picture earned the coveted Palme d’Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival must have been complete vindication of his
work here. It was richly deserved.
To round out a wonderful film, Wojciech Kilar's pitch-perfect musical score and accompanying selections elevate an already
powerful story of survival. As we see Szpilman's return to his former glory as a decorated pianist, one can't help but feel
the changed demeanor of a man who crafts his music around the somber notes of a bittersweet escape from death's
grasp. The Pianist conjures images of death and destruction, but it also imparts the inescapable truths of man's undeniable
courage and determination in the face of unspeakable horrors. Its message of hope through the trials of life, even the
Holocaust, is an inspirational lesson in an age of cynicism.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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