Grand Piano (2013)

A pianist with stage fright endures a performance under the eyes of a mysterious sniper, who will shoot and kill him if a wrong note is played.

Director:

Eugenio Mira

Writer:

Damien Chazelle

Stars:

Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé

5 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elijah Wood	...	Tom Selznick
John Cusack	...	Clem
Kerry Bishé	...	Emma Selznick
Tamsin Egerton	...	Ashley
Allen Leech	...	Wayne
Don McManus	...	Norman Reisinger
Alex Winter	...	Assistant
Dee Wallace	...	A & V Interviewer
Jim Arnold	...	Janitor
Jack Taylor	...	Patrick Godureaux
Beth Rollan	...	Emma's Publicist (as Beth Trollan)
Amy Gwilliam	...	Emma's Assistant
Harris Gordon	...	Emma's Agent
Ricardo Alexander	...	Executive (as Richard A. Newby)
Brendan Murphy	...	Mover #1

Storyline

A pianist with stage fright endures a performance under the eyes of a mysterious sniper, who will shoot and kill him if a wrong note is played.

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Plot Keywords:

stage | pianist | stage fright | die hard scenario | falling to death | 

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Taglines:

Play or Die

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Genres:

Music | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

Spain USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 2013 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Sans fausse note

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,964, 9 March 2014

Gross USA:

$22,555

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,618,085

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nostromo Pictures, Solution Entertainment Group, Atresmedia Televisión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During its limited theatrical release, the film was screened at only one New York City location: Quad Cinema, New York's first multiplex theater (opened in 1972).

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Goofs

When Tom walks of the stage and hides from the spectators the laser pointer of Clem's rifle should not be able to point at him.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Clem: Why, Tom?

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credit roll we hear The Impossible Piece being played while the title shows.

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Connections

References Citizen Kane (1941)

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Soundtracks

Ten Happy Fingers
Written by Dr. Seuss (as Theodore Geisel) and Friedrich Hollaender (as Frederick Hollander)
from The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953) (uncredited)
Used by permission of Shapiro Bernstein Spain Mood Music Division
Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Industries,Inc.
Under license from Sony Pictures Music group

User Reviews

Suspenseful and thrilling film about a world-class pianist who takes the stage for a highly anticipated comeback performance,

Entertaining suspense movie packs intrigue and ordinary touches in Hitchcock style . Top-notch thriller embroils a famous pianist in killing and twisted intrigue . Having messed up at playing an extremely difficult piano piece a few years before, talented pianist Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) lives with an extreme case of stage fright . Taking a step in the right direction and talked into it by his up and coming actress wife (Kerry Bishé) , Tom decides to give performing live another try . Already a mess, the situation is made much worse, when in the middle of playing a much easier musical number, Tom discovers a strange note written on his music sheet , the premise is the following : Play or Die .

Ultra-tense Spanish thriller starring Elijah Wood as a concert pianist who moments before his comeback performance suffers from stage fright and to discover that if he fails to play the music precisely as it was written , a nearly impossible feat in this case , then a sniper hidden in the theater will open fire. The picture is realized in Hitch wake , as it has a great number of elements and his own iconography : vertiginous height , innocent man wrongfully chased , blonde bombshells , voyeurism, long non-dialogue sequences , a matter of mistaken identity , MacGuffin ,etc. Do you know what a MacGuffin is, Maestro? It's a person or thing around which the entire film revolves and yet turns out to have little importance to the story . It's a magnificent device whereby a good plot can be given a driving force without the indecency of explanation . Grand Piano (2013), from director Eugenio Mira is an exciting film displaying suspense , intrigue , tension , and interesting drama well written by Damien Chazelle . Packs an ordinary theme of the suspense magician : innocent people become caught up in a cobweb intrigue and uncanny , intelligent villains . From the thrilling story and screenplay including literately and thoughtful dialog , the picture gets unlimited suspense in crescendo , tense , full of lingering frames and with the typical touches Hitchcock . And plenty of MacGuffins , as this picture is heavy with devices . A hidden threat, a hostage, an assistant, an unplayable piece of music, a stage, a key, and the unknown fortune of a deceased mentor .

Enjoyable mystery movie involves a bewildered pianist who hold numerous tricks in order to escape from a cruel killer and being chased cross hall concert and backstage . This agreeable picture by Eugenio Mira has a memorable scene after another and following the steps from master of suspense . This film has these particularities ; furthermore contains a fun intrigue , amusing situations and keeps the action at feverish pitch . Grand Piano is Hitchockian in the truer sense : It's a meticulously crafted piece of filmmaking that's wholly committed to a highly specific , somewhat outlandish premise . In addition , a colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Unax Mendia . Special mention to impressive and rousing musical score by Victor Reyes . The motion picture was well directed by Eugenio Mira (Agnosia , Birthday) and perfectly produced by Rodrigo Cortes (Buried , Red lights) . Mira played these elements like a concert pianist, perfectly timed with a soaring melody. Rating : Above average , well worth watching .