Review of Adrien Brody in ‘The Pianist’

Two decades before he played an architect fleeing post-World War II Europe in director Brady Corbett’s BrutalistAdrien Brody had his critics praising him Pianist. Directed by Roman Polanski, Pianist features Brody as the real-life pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust. Based on Szpilman’s 1946 memoir, the film focuses on his hardships during World War II when he loses contact with his family but finds strength through music.

Prior to this role, Brody starred in a Terrence Malick film Thin red line but he revealed at the 1998 premiere that he was mostly on the cutting room floor; he also starred in Spike Lee’s 1999 drama Sam’s summer. Joseph Fiennes, in which he recently starred Shakespeare in lovewas Polanski’s first choice for Pianist but he was busy with the show. Brody got the role after extensive casting and threw himself headlong into the preparations. He worked with four piano instructors and practiced for hours a day, and put himself on a starvation diet to lose 30 pounds. This meant no French pastries while filming in Paris. “Being that place where you can’t have bread is probably the worst,” Brody recalled at the time.

Filming also included six weeks in Eastern Europe with Brody as the only actor on set while Szpilman hides in solitude. “I found (the piano) to be a wonderful distraction not only from hunger but from loneliness,” he said.

Pianist it premiered at Cannes in May 2002 and won the Palme d’Or at the festival before being released in theaters on December 27 by Focus Features. It grossed $120 million at the global box office and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, with screenplay wins for Brody, Polanski and Ronald Harwood.

Brody, who at age 29 became the youngest Best Actor winner in history, said the story of the film left him depressed for a year after filming ended. But he was grateful for his newfound perspective: “Besides the obvious career benefits and recognition, it changed my life as a man.”

This story first appeared in the December standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.