Due to stage fright, Tom Selznick stopped performing even though he is considered the best pianist of his generation. Years went on, when Tom finally come back on stage for a packed concert, he received a note warning that if one note is played wrong, he will be shoot to dead. How will the musician manage the performance under such pressure?
Excessive in its simplicity, yet simplistic in its excess, 'Grand Piano' is a sharp thriller that knows exactly what it is and what it wants to do -- like any good concert, the goal is to entertain, and it succeeds fairly well.
Grand Piano is a screenwriter's fantasy of a self-conscious Hitchcockian thriller, daringly written, improbably made - and more unbelievably made well.
Eugenio Mira's Grand Piano is a stylish and taut thriller that wastes no time on spectacle, instead choosing to meticulously focus on story, characters, atmosphere and building tension throughout.
Once you accept that "Grand Piano" is B-movie pulp, there's a certain amount of fun to be had. This proudly old-fashioned movie will pull any trick in the book to hold your attention.
It's ridiculously far-fetched, and classical concertgoers will wince at the script's wilful blunders, but flamboyant camerawork and a delicious streak of dark humour make it ridiculously enjoyable, too.
