Grand Piano Review: Unexpectedly Beautiful

Everyone’s favorite hobbit Elijah Wood puts on a tuxedo and plays a Bðsendorfer for all in “Grand Piano,” a flick as enjoyable and tense as anything Beethoven ever composed.

Tom Selznick is a great pianist with stage fright who stopped performing after terrible performance. Five years later he decided to go back to performing in one great concert in Chicago. However, Tom finds a note written on the score that says “Play one wrong note and you die.” Now he has to get help without his killer getting suspicious and leaving his piano.

This is the movie “Phone Booth” wished it was. The suspense here grabs you from the start and never lets go. This is helped by Wood giving one of best performances. That isn’t saying much as Wood’s expertise is playing nervous characters. Even so, Wood has an astounding acting ability.

Kudos needs to be given to Alex Winter. Everyone will recognize him as Bill from the “Bill and Ted” movies. Audiences will be astonished to see Bill acting serious. Winter shows that he can do serious well and he’s not some actor who can only play characters that yell “excellent” and “bogus.” It’s a nice and unexpected surprise.

Another thing that makes this movie work so well is the use of classical music for tension. Classical music isn’t the first genre that directors go to when they want to build tension in action scenes. Director Eugenio Mira manages to match the music and action perfectly. Even just seeing Wood playing a solo is enough to get anyone exited.

Speaking of Wood on the piano, he actually is playing the piano. He had lessons when he was a kid and had coaching during filming. Not only does he sound excellent, but he makes playing the piano look like a show. One standout example is when he hides his phone behind his sheet music and is texting while playing at the same time. He made it look like a pianist doing some weird quirk, but was really trying to get some help.

Of course not all is perfect in this movie. Kerry Bishe as Tom’s wife, Emma, was pretty underwhelming. She did do fine job, but the character really doesn’t do anything in the movie. She’s only there as an ultimatum for Tom in that if she tried anything she’d die. In fact, the movie makes it appear that she’s really only there for that one scene where she unconsciously serves as a distraction. There’s also the fact that the only reason the killer wanted him to play perfectly was for a heist that really wasn’t explained well. The movie gives no explanation as to what the killer has to gain from this heist.

Despite a questionable heist “Grand Piano” is an excellent thriller flick with remarkable acting and equal parts music. Watch it for the suspense and be amazed by Wood’s piano playing.