Suspense takes centre stage when a young virtuoso plays to a full house while his life is under threat from a stalking maniac
Grand Piano is about a talented pianist Tom Selznick who makes a comeback from a humiliating concert over stage fright five years earlier. But before he begins to play, he is surprised to see on the score a threatening message written in red ink: “Play one wrong note and you die.”
From then on, the tempo builds up, until it hits the final piece in the recital.
Crisis under Camouflage
What the audience in the opulent hall sees is just Tom playing in plain sight, backed by a full orchestra. As the story goes, only Tom knows of the crisis confronting him. Not even his wife Emma realises the danger her husband faces, as she watches the recital from a box seat.
Feeling rather uneasy, Tom tries to keep his cool and complies with the sniper’s voice-over instructions through an earpiece while performing before an unsuspecting audience. Will Tom’s stage fright return to haunt him? Will he survive the sniper’s threat on his life?
About the Cast
Cherubic-faced Elijah Wood apparently befits the lead role of the pensive pianist. Wood’s eyes-wide-open look still captivates, no doubt – conspicuous even long after leaving behind his Frodo character in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In this new thriller, he takes on the role of the victim, a reversal of his serial killer role in the Franck Khalfoun remake of Maniac.
Boasting an acting career spanning two decades with lead roles in hits such as 2012 and Shanghai, John Cusack plays the sinister Clem. However, his character is heard more than seen in this 90-minute movie, and his threatening voice is audible through a earpiece meant only for the pianist.
Stage and screen actress Kerry Bishe (of Argo) plays the supportive wife who stages the concert in a bid to restore confidence in her talented spouse.
Indoor Setting
Much of the suspense-filled movie, directed by Spanish director Eugenio Mira, is shot within a Chicago symphonic hall, with the trappings of a full orchestra and a 4,000-capacity audience partially digitised. Even the music is played to good effect as the plot thickens, just as in a Brian de Palma thriller or a Hitchcock shocker.
All said, Grand Piano is likely to keep you on the edge of your seat.
GRAND PIANO [PG13]
DIRECTOR: Eugenio Mira
STARRING: Elijah Wood, John Cusack & Allen Leech
GENRE: Drama, Thriller
RUN LENGTH: 91 min
RELEASE: May 15
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