DVDs in Review

The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 1999)

Title: The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 1999)

Release date: September 13 2010

Certificate: 15

Format: Blu-ray

RRP: £24.99

Rating: 5/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

This doesn't feel like conventional Roman Polanksi, which in itself can be incredibly unconventional. This isn't a gritty crime thriller, a supernatural shocker, a psychological headtrip or an examination of sexual repression; it's a straight story of a pianist evading the Nazis in World War 2. It could be his most personal film yet.

Adrien Brody stars as the brilliant Polish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jew, who escapes deportation to the German detention camps, forcing him to live in the heart of the Warsaw ghetto. It's a true story, and one which Polanski can directly relate to - when scouting locations, he met the man who helped members of his own family survive the death camps which gassed his mother.

'The Pianist' didn't really need a star name to make it work, but Adrien Brody is perfectly suited. His fame is offset by his appearance. He doesn't look like a leading man, he looks like an everyman. This and his almost meek, incredibly subtle portrayal makes this film. Brody deserved the Oscar, as did Polanski and Ronal Harwood's script - the three of them don't get in the way of each other or fight for attention. It just feels real.

This film vetoes the thriller elements which could've propelled it, opting for a slow burn. When the first bombs hit, Szpilman is playing classical piano for a radio show. He keeps playing. When the war intensifies, his wealthy family believe that they're safe. Why leave behind their social standing and friends when the British and French are rallying against the Nazis? They stay. Szpilman sees a catalogue of errors of judgement, mistakes and tragedy, somehow surviving it all with a lot of luck.

He doesn't have a particular point to prove; usually his instrument does the talking, conveying his unspoken emotions, bringing people together. When he finally finds a piano in a bombed out building, the repression is almost unbearable. He needs that release.

'The Pianist' isn't an easy watch, but it's a rewarding one that will keep you gripped. As Polanksi's most restrained work, it gains a focus of narrative that he hasn't matched since 'Chinatown' back in '74. This limited edition Blu-ray from Studio Canal is a perfect way to see this great film.