‘Masterpiece’ period drama with unrecognisable star on BBC | Films | Entertainment

A “masterpiece period drama featuring a stellar performance from an unrecognisable Hollywood legend will air on BBC Two at midnight tonight.

The Piano follows pianist and mute Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) as she arrives in Colonial New Zeland after a long voyage from Scotland with her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin).

The mother and daughter are left with their livelihoods, including Ada’ piano on the foreign beach. Ada has been married off to Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill) and does not take well to him. Instead warming to Maori-friendly acquaintance, George Baines (Harvey Keitel).

With a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, this Jane Campion film has been labelled a masterpiece. The Piano remains a masterpiece, thanks to Campion’s remarkable direction.

Bianca Garner writes: “It is also worth mentioning Michael Nyman’s sweeping score, and Stuart Dryburgh’s gorgeous cinematography capturing the beauty and the awe of the New Zealand landscape.”

Dann Gire agrees writing: “The Piano is Campion’s most accessible film, yet mainstream audiences spoon-fed on formula love stories will find themselves wondrously lost in its unpredictable turns of events and its explosive, spontaneous sensibilities.”

This three-time Oscar winning film, including Best Picture in 1993, has IMDb users enthusing over the romantic tale. One user rated the film 9 out of 10, saying: “The Piano is a beautiful film in many different respects. In terms of cinematography, I’ve seen few like it. It is dark and beautiful and compelling. The story seems, on paper, as a torrid love story without much originality.

“But the sensuous portrayal of Harvey Keitel and Holly Hunter and the complex acting of a young Anna Paquin allow this story to ring true.

“I was skeptical upon viewing a film so lauded by critics and film snobs, but found myself both moved and connected to the film that holds strangely relevant themes for modern times. It is rare that I love both a film’s visual beauty and it’s script as well. This is that rare occasion.”

Another agreed, saying: “This is one of my all-time favorite films. It combines masterful scripting, cinematography, performances, and musical score into a disturbing, erotic, and ultimately uplifting piece.

“The movie’s heroine, wonderfully portrayed by Holly Hunter, is mute (symbolic of the fact that she has no say in her own life), with her daughter (the astonishing Anna Paquin) and her piano as her personal obsessions.

“Her conscripted husband, coldly played by Sam Neill, is trying to win her heart and her desire in all the wrong ways, while his crude tribal neighbor, sensually played by Harvey Keitel, understands her needs and ultimately captures her … physically, intellectually, and romantically.”