Review – The Pianist

I confess at the outset that I’m more than a little bothered by the “desperate plea for an Oscar” aspect of this movie. It’s not that this is a bad movie. Far from it. This is an outstanding movie, an admirably frank portrayal of the horrible conditions in the Warsaw ghetto and how things go from bad to worse when Polish Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman escapes and must hide in various locations throughout Warsaw. It’s just that the whole thing seems to be custom designed to give lead actor Adrien Brody plenty of opportunities to show off his skills as a thespian. Then of course there’s the Academy’s inclination toward anything having to do with the Holocaust. Yet poor ol’ child-molesting Roman Polanski couldn’t come and claim his statue in person. Them’s the breaks, I guess. Oscar crap aside, the movie’s long and depressing as one might expect but still worth the time and the mood swing it’ll likely produce. Worth seeing