Grand Piano: Hitchcockian Thriller Strikes Off Key

The slick-looking, clever Grand Piano is a Hitchcockian thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously, which, unfortunately, is to its detriment. Elijah Wood stars as Tom Selznick, a wunderkind pianist who is the best of his generation, but whose defining moment was when he had a disastrous performance due to stage fright.

A few years have passed, and he's now ready to tackle his fear at a highly-anticipated, long-awaited concert in Chicago, but what he soon discovers is he'll have to overcome more than stage fright; he'll have to overcome the fear of being killed. With a packed-house, he discovers when he starts to play that someone has penned threats in read ink on his sheet music. The culprit calls him and eggs him on during his concert, threatening to shoot his wife if he misses a note.

Director Eugenio Mira paints with broad strokes the portrait of a gifted musician struggling with overcoming his performance fears. The film is visually sumptuous and underscores Selznick's turmoil; while all may appear to be perfect on the outside, his internal goings-on are another matter.

His third feature, Screenwriter Damien Chazelle, who wrote the script on spec, crafts a witty, dark tale that is too tongue-in-cheek for its good. Naming the lead character Tom Selznick is a wonderful nod to back-in-the-day movie producer David O. Selznick, who first brought Alfred Hitchcock to the U.S.

What's interesting is, it's the music that takes away from the suspense in the film. It's too clean and overpowering, giving the scenes a melodramatic feel. By the time the viewer is introduced to the mysterious stranger, John Cusak, it seems anti-climactic. Dr. Phibes emerging from behind a curtain would have been more of a payoff. 

The lynchpin of the movie is Elijah Wood, whose timing and pacing is musical. Watching him play cat and mouse with the caller, while trying not to skip a beat in his melodies, is great cinema. The rich look of the film combined with his performance make it enjoyable. However, despite the high-gloss look, it's still a bit off key.