‘Grand Piano’: Elijah Wood Stars In This Underrated Thriller [The Overlooked Motel]
Welcome to The Overlooked Motel, a place where under-seen and unappreciated films are given their moment in the spotlight. I hope you enjoy your stay here and find the accommodations to be suitable. Now, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I have some misbehaving guests to ‘correct.’
Today’s selection is a white-knuckle thriller that flew under the radar upon release in 2014 and remains just as underseen ten years later. The film features a noteworthy cast of familiar faces while juxtaposing high-octane thrills alongside moments of dark comedy. Perhaps most impressively, Grand Piano successfully manages to make the use of a musical instrument properly terrifying.
Grand Piano follows Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood), a wunderkind piano player who famously choked at a performance five years prior. At the prompting of his movie star spouse, Emma (Kerry Bishé), Tom agrees to perform for the first time since his famous flub. To commemorate his return to the stage, Tom is playing his late instructor’s prize piano, which has been shipped in for the performance. As if the stakes weren’t already high enough, a gunman is in the audience and insists Tom play the entire concert without a missed note lest Emma should pay the ultimate price.
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Screenwriter Damien Chazelle injects the film with some great moments of dark comedy that give the picture a quirky charm. As Tom is en route to his performance in Chicago, his plane hits rough air. We assume the panic that ensues is related to his fear of flying. But as the aircraft goes in for a safe landing, Tom comically retorts, “I’m screwed,” in trepidation of the impending gig. After touching down, he takes a phone interview (Dee Wallace plays the journalist on the other end of the line) on his way to the venue, which proves to be plenty comical. The conversation serves as a vehicle to deliver some expository dialogue but also functions as an amusing personification of Tom’s inner monologue.
Emma’s friends Ashley and Wayne (Tamsin Egerton and Allen Leech, respectively) are also mined for a few good laughs. Case in point: Wayne doesn’t understand that a classical concert doesn’t typically feature an opening act, and Ashley sees no reason Tom can’t imbibe before going on stage to play what’s widely considered an impossible arrangement.
The film is atmospheric and enthralling and takes care to nod to several cinematic greats. Director Eugenio Mira wears his cinematic influences on his sleeve; the level of intensity is in the vein of Hitchcock; the deeply saturated reds of the theater are reminiscent of Argento; and the clever use of split screen nods to De Palma. But despite taking influence from some of the most noteworthy names in suspense, Mira does plenty to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with.
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One of the director’s most notable accomplishments here is the camerawork. With the aid of cinematographer Unax Mendia, Mira frames his shots of the expansive theater to make the massive venue feel cramped and tiny. We rarely see grand, sweeping views of the concert hall. Instead, we see the theater in closely cropped shots that amplify the mounting tension with a claustrophobic quality.
Mira also impresses by using the cadence of the orchestra that’s supporting Tom’s performance like a score. The melody becomes frantic in the more harrowing scenes and underscores the tension it accompanies. And because the music is a central focus and is played at higher volumes, it has an even more profound effect than a conventional score.
Grand Piano takes a chance by waiting until the onset of the second act to introduce the central threat. But it’s a gamble that pays off. Tom is a fascinating and relatable character brought to life by a capable actor. So, the deliberate approach works to endear the audience to Tom, rather than serving to aggravate.
Elijah Wood is predictably great in his portrayal of Tom. The actor plays the film’s somewhat neurotic lead to perfection; believably bringing him to life as a character with all of the talent in the world but none of the confidence one might expect from such an accomplished pianist. Wood portrays that distinction believably and with nuance.
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Despite appearing almost entirely as a disembodied voice on the other end of an earpiece, John Cusack also makes a big impression. He is maniacally assertive and suitably imposing. The timbre of his voice is truly unnerving.
If I have one critique of the film, it’s that the gunman exaggerates the stakes a bit. His insistence that Tom does not miss a single note during his performance adds ample tension and intrigue to the proceedings. And while that command does serve a purpose, once all is revealed, the connotation of that ask has a narrower scope than we are initially led to believe. Accordingly, I wish that piece of the script had been tweaked ever so slightly to better support that component. But that’s a small qualm and one that many might not even pick up on.
All things considered, Grand Piano is an effective effort with great camerawork and performances. The picture nods to several cinematic greats and also uses the orchestra at the center of the narrative to add to the intensity. If you’re game to check the film out, you can find it streaming on Tubi as of the publication of this post.
That’s all for this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you’d like to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram.
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