Sometimes the universe is a strange place and needed champions emerge from unexpected places.
As I type this review I’m listening to Taylor Swift’s re-release of her hit record Fearless, because frankly it was all over my social media feed today. I was late to the game on TSwift, and while I find her music enjoyable to listen to from time to time I’m definitely not a die hard fan, so I was genuinely curious as to why she re-recorded an entire album? There’s a whole lot of details I’m going to skip over, but apparently she did so to regain control of her music, which is honestly something we should all support. Good for her for not just speaking out about what she felt was unjust but also for being in a position where she could do something about it. I hope the album both does well and returns her feeling of ownership over what she created. I also hope she champions for other artists who have had similar things happen to them but without her recognition and leverage.
So here’s where it starts to feel strange for me. I re-watched The Piano a few days ago for the first time since it came out on VHS, and when I did Taylor Swift was the furthest thing from my mind. I had the review all written in my head and today was going to consist of nothing more than transcribing it to my Google Doc. But then I started listening to the album, which for the record does not contain much piano, I realized how vital her voice was to the music. She wrote a majority of the songs, sang them, produced them, played guitar on them, and even designed the booklet for the CD. Whatever anyone can think of the music, it is hers and someone took it away and there is injustice in that.
Which, for those of you who’ve seen The Piano, probably know exactly where I’m going with this.
In 1993, writer/director Jane Campion gave us her new film The Piano. After some well received films overseas, this was the big introduction to world of her creative visions. In the film, star Holly Hunter plays Ada McGrath, a mute woman who arrives on the coast of New Zealand to begin her arranged marriage with her new husband Alisdair Stewart, played by Sam Neill. She has brought her young daughter, Flora, played in an Oscar winning turn by young Anna Paquin, as well as the titular piano along. While Stewart is happy to welcome his new wife and her young daughter into his modest home in the rough countryside, he has his misgivings about the piano, which will require some difficult maneuvering to bring home. So instead of listening to his wife’s pleas he chooses to leave it behind, starting off his marriage on rather rocky grounds.
The remainder of the movie is an attempt for him to eventually win her affections which does not go as planned, especially when he sells her beloved piano to George (Harvey Keitel), who at least will allow her to play the piano under the pretenses of giving her lessons. But as it goes for most women, his kindness doesn’t come without a price, which she reluctantly pays.
Enough can not be said about Hunter’s performance, which was also Oscar winning. Without the use of words she relies heavily on gestures, looks, and briefly written notes that she rarely shares. She is a woman who is incomplete without her music, which she also uses to communicate with anyone who listens. It is her lifeblood, her bedrock to the life she once lived and at times the only item that keeps her tethered to life itself. Watching her lose control of it is heartbreaking but necessary, and as the film nears it’s ending we learn what price she’s willing to pay to keep her “voice.”
Director Campion, an Oscar winner and nominee in both writing and directing, has made a career out of making films about strong, independent women who find it necessary to fight for everything they hold dear, from early films like An Angel at My Table to recent television shows like Top of the Lake. I hope she continues to fight the good fight. In a world full of opportunistic people ready to snatch away artist’s voices, the message that people are ready to fight in order to regain them absolutely needs to be heard. And her voice is strong.
Rated 4 out of 5 Stars
