The Piano Player (2003)

I had misgivings about this film, as it seemed like an ordinary mass murder film dominated by meaningless violence, and indeed it starts like that, but then Christopher Lambert gets wounded, and things take an interesting turn, as Dennis Hopper takes him out into the country and we enter a completely different world. Indeed, the greatest interest of this film is the very interesting ambients and sceneries of Cape Town and the wilderness of South Africa with its rugged nature and the local people. There are some scenes that will stick in your mind forever.The music is also very good. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, last and first movement, recur now and then and has some bearing on the case, but all the other music is interesting as well. Above all, it's a good story, both Dennis Hopper and Christopher Lambert show their best acting sides and are well seconded by Diane Kruger. It is to be noted, that this is Jean-Pierre Roux' one and only film so far.

This is a film that represents a wasted opportunity. It has a good story and features some semi big names (Dennis Hopper, Christopher Lambert and Diane Kruger). The problems were writing, direction and editing. The screenplay has too much "dead time" in it. And it's not edited very tightly either. The last half of the film takes place in a remote village and a lot of time is spent "reflecting" and just sitting around. I feel that the time could have been spent doing exposition work. There's also a problem where when Lambert's character has been knocked out by the bad guy, it's hard to tell what he was dreaming vs what was actually happening. Diane Kruger provides some eye candy, but adds very little else to the film. Hopper's a better actor than Lambert, but not much and acting Ian't this film's strong suit either. Overall, in other hands and with perhaps a more vibrant cast, this could have been a good film. By far it's strongest point is the beautiful scenery (yes, including Kruger).

The Piano Player, or The Target in the U.S., is a movie that begins with an interesting plot but loses its focus towards the middle. Christopher Lambert plays Alex Laney, an unconvincing hitman who must protect Robert Nile (Dennis Hopper), a lawyer who knows the truth about the leader of a South African mob. The problem with this movie, other than it drags, is that there's no development of the Lambert character. There's one scene where his hitman qualities shine when he saves Nile's daughter from kidnappers but his hitman character is ultimately weak and unbelievable. We witness the death of his parents when he's a child (the past of all hitmen must show why they do what they do) but the his passion to kill or protect doesn't go far. Alex Laney is a bad role for Christopher Lambert or any actor. When Robert Nile visits a small town where he was brought up we lose interest in the story because the tension dies and the mood is off tangent. It's too bad because Dennis Hopper is a great character actor who wasted his presence on this movie and Christopher Lambert (whom I'm a fan of for Highlander although I think his best work is in Subway) must certainly choose his roles more carefully. An actor need not be very diverse in roles but should pick roles suitable for his range.

I'm a big fan of Lambert and in my book he can do no wrong.The Piano Player is a entertaining movie with good directing,solid screenplay and great actors and music.Not better then Resurrection,but much better then The Point Men and Vercingétorix.Very good for a movie with 10 million budget.7/10.