The Piano
User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 64 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 64
  3. Negative: 9 out of 64

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  1. CraigU.
    Sep 2, 2002
    0
    My mother borrowed it from the library, and I came over to watch it also. We both expected a good movie based on how high it was rated by the critics. The longer it played on the DVD, the more we kept glancing at each other with puzzled looks. The movie just gets weirder & weirder as is drags on. We ejected it and watched something else instead. We never saw the ending, and we don't really care how it ends either. As far as the critics... this film reminds me of a shapeless blob of color smears hanging on a museum wall. As art critics rave over what a masterpiece it is, ordinary people walk by and make derogatory comments about it. … Expand
  2. DrRhythm
    May 30, 2007
    1
    Possibly the worst film I have ever seen and certainly the closest I have ever come to walking out of a cinema. It's appalling junk that has attracted an extraordinary amount of what I call "Emperor's New Clothes" reviewing. Given it a 1 because it's well shot but otherwise it gets a fat zero - horrible!
  3. YoonC.
    Sep 24, 2003
    3
    A spinsterish feminist fantasy for dweebs and flakes. It turns a sexually repressed scenario into a fetish, something like an artsy-fartsy adaptation of a subpar romance novel . It's one thing to do it straight and show injustice of past social relationships; it's another to turn it into orgasmic martyrdom where even a woman getting her pinkie lopped off is charged with strained orgiastic delight. Pinkie = clitoris? Wouldn't it have been better and more honest for Campion and her feminist fans to just read some dumb romance novel where the heroine gets abducted by a pirate and get humped? I'm sure it's more honest masturbatory material. Usually fine Holly Hunter's career took a well-deserved nosedive from here. … Expand
  4. PatC.
    Jan 7, 2004
    4
    Way too much hoity-toity hand wringing. Very little of it stayed with me.
  5. BillS.
    Feb 28, 2002
    0
    Awful.
  6. RussellS.
    Mar 13, 2002
    0
    The reviews above contain all the vague buzzwords and glittering generalities needed to make you suspect that this movie is pointless garbage. It is indeed that -- but it is made even worse because it has pretentions to profudity handled with canned-ham-handness.
  7. JT
    Oct 28, 2003
    0
    I've always hated this movie. I never understood how a film where the heroine falls in love with a man who is sexually harassing her can be described as beautiful and a true representation of the human spirit.
  8. sohyunw.
    Nov 12, 2006
    4
    If you play piano, put this one on the bottom of your list to watch. However, it is nice to watch on a rainy day, but don't go out of your way. Some parts were quite cheezy and I didn't like the weird, erotic scenes. I would rather see Amadeus for the 43rd time or watch my sisters play piano gracefully without words. Acting by Anna is superb. The rest of the cast... too boring and familiar.… Expand
  9. AmberH.
    Sep 19, 2005
    1
    I missed the finger chop bit, so i dont understand it, and it took forever to tell the story.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Although the action tends to become melodramatic and even overwrought at times, the imaginative power of Campion's images and emotional insights (especially with regard to the heroin) rarely allow the story to seem artificial or exaggerated. [12 Nov 1993]
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    90
    Campion has spun a fable as potently romantic as a Bronte tale. But The Piano is also deeply cinematic. [22 Nov 1993]
  3. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    100
    Campion's script is very well received, but the film finally makes it on cinematics: bleakly beautiful photography, haunting score, and good acting. [12 Nov 1993]
See all critic reviews »