Grand Piano
Magnet Releasing | Release Date: March 7, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
HitfixDrew McWeenyApr 18, 2014
The sheer sly joy of the filmmaking that is on display here is one of the reasons I go to movies. Read full review
91
The PlaylistTodd GilchristDec 20, 2013
An expertly timed, painstakingly assembled and endlessly engaging game of cat and mouse, Grand Piano succeeds as a whole for the same reasons that Selznick does—namely, because Mira brings all of its elements to work together in concert, and then executes them like a virtuoso. Read full review
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekMar 4, 2014
Making this kind of thriller has all but become a lost art, yet Mira clearly believes that high style is worth bothering with. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 10, 2014
For all its virtuosic showboating, the film belongs as much to its screenwriter, Damien Chazelle, as it does to its director, Eugenio Mira. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaMar 7, 2014
A tidy and tension-filled exercise in terror that takes stage fright to literal extremes. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 6, 2014
The ending is a TVish cop-out. But until then, watching Wood sweat emerges as a pulse-pounding experiment in terror. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 13, 2014
Not all the right notes are hit in Grand Piano, but for an elegantly schizoid B movie, it's more B-sharp than B-flat. Read full review
70
Film.comJenni MillerMar 4, 2014
Wood’s energetic, tightly wound performance carries the movie; his ability to juggle all the different information coming at him — keeping time on the piano while speaking and hitting his cues — is admirable and probably exhausting. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonDec 20, 2013
The young Spanish director Eugenio Mira and his American screenwriter Damien Chazelle have fun paying homage to the pulpy potboilers of yesteryear. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMar 5, 2014
That it all ends on a somewhat flat, false note is less a failure of the filmmakers than it is a testament to a certain amount of overzealousness in the screenplay – which, of course, echoes the nail-gnawing tension unfolding onscreen. Bravo! Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMar 4, 2014
A nail-biting thriller in the classic Hitchcock style. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezFeb 28, 2014
Eugenio Mira thrills in watching his main character attempt to worm his way out of a most unusual hostage situation, synching his indulgences of style to the pianist's wily physical maneuvering. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenSep 15, 2014
Some inspired grace notes elevate a thriller that's more De Palma than Hitchcock. Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeMar 6, 2014
[An] appealingly absurd thriller. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichMar 4, 2014
This is hardly a symphony of terror, but it’s still a solidly composed exercise in suspense. Read full review
60
The DissolveNathan RabinFeb 11, 2014
To its credit and sometimes detriment, Grand Piano keeps a frothing-at-the-mouth level of insane melodrama going for 75 minutes, aided by Wood’s sweaty, terrified performance, a screenplay rich in ridiculous contrivances, and a swooping camera that never stands still. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughMar 20, 2014
Though Mira shows skill at evoking mood and building tension despite the constrained circumstances of the premise, the narrative quickly and embarrassingly breaks down. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartMar 6, 2014
While absolutely nothing in Grand Piano makes the least bit of sense, it is admittedly gorgeous to look at and listen to. Give Mira a decent script, and he might be a director to be reckoned with. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMar 6, 2014
This proudly old-fashioned movie will pull any trick in the book to hold your attention. And it needs those tricks: Damien Chazelle’s screenplay is sloppy, ludicrous and ultimately devoid of suspense. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 6, 2014
When people complain about movies glutting the market, this moronic “Black Swan”-meets-“Phone Booth” thriller is what they mean. Read full review
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