Thursday Minute
No. 90 | May 6, 2010

Plight of the Piano Player

Our theme this week
Piano-playing protagonists in peril

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le Pianiste) (1960)
Tuesday         —   Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Wednesday    —   The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001)

Shine (1996)

Relative to our theme’s other films, this story about a gifted musician suffering from mental illness may be the feel-good movie of the week.

Shine is based on the real-life story of David Helfgott.  The sub-theme for the week is the tyrannical parent, and in David’s case it was his father—the man who taught him how to play, drove him hard, and had no tolerance for failure.  As a teen, David wins a musical competition in his native Australia and has a chance to study in America.  The father, a Holocaust survivor played by Armin Mueller-Stahl, crushes the hopes of his son, forbidding him to leave.  In time, David moves to London, shows promise in winning another competition, but suffers a breakdown that leads to electric shock therapy.  From there, it’s a series of recoveries and relapses and a return to Australia, where eventually he finds the love of a supporting wife (Lynn Redgrave), who helps heal his wounds and prepares him for a comeback as a concert pianist.

Three actors play the talented piano player—Alex Rafalowicz, as a boy; Noah Taylor, as a teen; and Geoffrey Rush, in a Best Actor-winning performance, as an adult.  They are all very good, and Rush is especially effective portraying the manic man-child who desperately struggles to hold on—to his fleeting talent, and fleeting connection with normal life. 

The film has drawn criticism for taking liberties with the truth of Helfgott’s story (especially the relationship with his father), and for exaggerating Helfgott’s level of talent.  The former may be a valid point, though that type of dramatic license is often the case in true-life adaptations.  The latter is a more difficult call, since the events of Helfgott’s life made it impossible for him to realize his once-great promise.  His is not just a story of what might have been, but also a story of survival against difficult odds.

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Shine
Geoffrey Rush
“Flight of the Bumblebee”

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Shine
Noah Taylor
“Rach 3″

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Quote of Note
“Well, if I’m going to hell, I’m going there playing the piano.”
—Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid), Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

…58…59…60.