The Piano

Jane Campion's film The Piano is unique, especially in the way it depicts women and the sexual relationship between a man and a woman. It definitely represents a female viewpoint and it is very apparent that a female wrote and directed it, but in a much different way than the usual happy-go-lucky chick flick. The protagonist of the film, Ada, is very different than the typical female protagonist. This is most obvious in her muteness, which sets her apart from everyone else in the film and which distinguishes her from a typical female lead character. Ada is far from the perky, bubbly Meg Ryan type of character. While her muteness could be seen as a weakness, the way it is portrayed is far from it. Instead, it empowers her because she refuses to communicate along normal modes, but has to pull the men in her life along her ways of communication. Her lack of speaking to her husband is especially an effective way of alienating her from him. Ada does not fulfill the traditional stereotype of a woman, but her intensity and her drive, both in her piano playing and her sexuality, show a new type of female representation. Ada sharply contrasts with the other women in the film, who are more stereotypical representations of chattering ditzes. This is exemplified when one of the women comments on Ada's piano playing, saying that she does not play it the way they do, in a straightforward way that is simply for entertainment. Rather, Ada's piano playing is deeply emotional, and reflects her strong connection with her emotions.

Another aspect of the film which was extremely unique was its frank depiction of sexual desire from a woman's point of view. Usually films portray sexual encounters from a male point of view, in which the woman's body is clearly the object of desire. However, this film is almost unsettling in the way it portrays Ada's sexual desires and blatantly makes the male body the object of desire. It is unsettling because it is something that the audience is not accustomed to. For example, we see all of George's body, full-frontal nudity, but we only get fleeting glimpses of Ada's body. This is a definite reversal from the usual depiction of sexual encounters in films. Ada's husband is almost frightened of her sexuality, and so the film shows that women expressing their sexual desires is frightening even to the objects of this desire. I guess this is why Ada connected with George, because he understood her desires. However, I found their romance somewhat ambiguous. It is clear that George was drawn to Ada because he was enchanted by her piano playing and the intense emotions she experienced during it, and he was drawn to her overall intensity. However, Ada's reasons for her attraction to him were less clear, partly because she didn't speak. She initially refused his advances, but then it seemed that she fell for him after he awakened her sexuality. But she never seems to have that much reason to care for him, other than that he is a stark contrast to her domineering, insensitive husband. This part of the film was problematic for me, especially since George's advances can easily be seen as creepy. Overall I think The Piano was a positive portrayal of women, because it shows how they can transcend traditional stereotypes and express themselves emotionally and physically. However, the romance, while adding to this theme, also detracted from it, since it seems that Ada was settling for him simply because he was there.