Grand Piano

Movie Title--  Grand Piano

Release Year--  2013

Running Time--  1 Hour and 30 Minutes

Director--  Eugenio Mira

Cast--  Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishe, Tamsin Egerton, Allen Leech, Alex Winter

Tom Selznick, a young pianist, comes out of retirement after 5 years only to be forced to play the most flawless performance of his life.

Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) is a young pianist who is about to make his return from a five year retirement.  From the time he arrives at the concert venue until the time he steps onto stage, he is reminded of the stage fright he had five years earlier which caused him to retire.  As Tom sits at the piano and opens his sheet music, he sees a note written on the page "Play one wrong note and you die".  This note and the instructions that follow start a deadly game for the pianist, who suddenly finds himself playing his return concert for his and his wife Emma's (Kerry Bishe) lives.

I know that the description of the film is very vague but I feel like it has to be in order to not give the film away.  I have grown up watching Elijah Wood (he is 2 years older than I am), so I am familiar with a numerous amount of his film roles and although this is not one of my favorites, I really enjoyed his performance in this film.  

This film has an old-style, B-film feel to it, which helps to overcome a few of the parts that feel a little cheesy.   Since this is a suspense thriller, there are a few deaths in this film that seem a little flat and poorly planned out but then again, the piano music playing over top of them helps to make them feel exaggerated, so they don't seem to be quite as cheesy as they otherwise would be.

This is not my favorite suspense film but the music is pretty good and the uncertainty of what is going to come next and the anxiousness you feel once he gets through one moment and moves into the next will keep you sitting through this film.  The first half hour or so is a little slow but if you can hang on through that, then it is a safe bet you will enjoy the rest.  Turn the lights off and the sound up for this one and Don't Forget the Popcorn!