DVD/BluRay Review: "Grand Piano" is a tense B-Movie thriller, and despite its flaws, is thoroughly entertaining. Written by Scott Gentry.

“Grand Piano” (15)
Directed by: Eugenio Mira.
Starring: Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé, Tamsin Egerton and Allen Leach.
Rated: ‘15’ for containing strong violence.
Running time: 90 minutes. 
Released on DVD/BluRay in the UK, from the 20th of October, 2014. 

Alfred Hitchcock is often referred to as the master of suspense, and here in Eugenio Mira’s (“The Birthday”) third directorial feature,  the tension is as tightly strung as the stringed instruments within his delightfully twisted film, despite the unfortunate minor faults within its plot. 

This beautifully stylised thriller focuses around a talented pianist named Tom Selznick (Wood), who after a five year hiatus from performing in public, due to stage fright, has returned to the stage for a long awaited concert in Chicago. Tom is tense to say the least, as the expectations of his audience are unbelievably high and it seems as though the rest of his career in music may rest upon this very performance. Within the packed theatre, Tom begins to play and all seems to be going perfectly well, until he discovers a message written upon his score: “Play one wrong note and you die”. Upon reading this, Tom’s tormentor reveals his demands and realises that he must uncover the anonymous intimidator’s motives, whilst avoiding a shot from a sniper rifle, which is trained upon him and his wife (within the audience) at all times. 

It’s an intriguing plot, that’s for sure, and what follows is a 90 minute thrill ride which owes various elements to Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth” and Alfred Hitchcock himself, along with a whole host of nifty twists and turns. Wood and his fellow cast members provide decent performances to keep the film running, but although Cusack may be delightfully horrid in his role, it seems as though he may have been pushed to the sideline and his talents are wasted to some degree. Victor Reyes’s inventive score also adds to the tension and showcases his undeniable talent for gripping scores (see “Buried” from 2010).

Verdict

It may not tie up all of the film’s individual threads towards the end of the film, and there are various pitfalls within the film’s plot, but this is B-Movie filmmaking with a distinctive edge. But, where’s the special features?

6.5 Stars out of 10

Written by Scott Gentry

Film/TV Rating Key

1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.

3-4 stars out of ten = Average.

5-6 stars out of ten = Good.

7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.

9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.

Trailer