MovieChat Forums > Crimson Peak (2015) Discussion > Did anyone else cringe HARD when Lucille...

Did anyone else cringe HARD when Lucille plays Chopin on the piano?

posted 8 years ago by VVolfySnackrib
21 replies | jump to latest

Anybody that has heard the Chopin piece that she plays before, hell even people that hasn't heard it, it should be quite obvious to all that this woman can not play the piano at all. Look at her looking extremely carefully, at both hands none the less before pushing down on the keys, to make absolutely sure she doesn't place her fingers in the wrong location, and she proceeds to play it super carefully and slowly. Considering the part that comes before the ending part that she's playing, it's a god damned joke to even imagine how she played that. I hope you remember how slow and clumsily she played the ending, because just listen to this part that she would have had to play before it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8p0VcTbuA#t=7m49s

[–] josephmramirez 8 years ago

No, I did not cringe, because the accuracy with which the playing of a musical instrument is simulated is irrelevant in any film that is not primarily the story of a musician.

[–] VVolfySnackrib 8 years ago

Actually, the movie's lack of concern for the higher arts is a hint that it's not a movie that goes the extra mile. It's a mediocre movie and doesn't go to the same kind of lengths that better movie makers tend to push their craft.

[–] josephmramirez 8 years ago

Come off it. "Lack of concern for the higher arts"? Because Chastain's fake finger work didn't look sufficiently convincing to you?

[–] VVolfySnackrib 8 years ago

Imagine how much lower the standard would be on other movies if the piano work looked more unconvincing. Things like when Data plays the violin and other instruments on TNG, not to mention Picard playing the flute. I mean it doesn't look 100 % accurate, but well enough. You could tell they put a lot of effort into those details, and with a show like TNG you'd expect no less, considering how much poetry, philosophy, music, classical literature, history, politics, and much much more that it contains. So much high culture strewn throughout the show. Then there's movies like The Pianist, a movie I personally don't like because of its malicious political propaganda, but none the less, Adrien Brody worked very hard to make it look like he's playing the classical music accurately for the shots where he is playing. You underestimate how much the attention to details like these matter for the overall craftsmanship of a movie. Makes the movie universe feel more three dimensional rather than like flat meaningless cardboard.

[–] josephmramirez 8 years ago

Then there's movies like The Pianist, a movie I personally don't like because of its malicious political propaganda, but none the less, Adrien Brody worked very hard to make it look like he's playing the classical music accurately for the shots where he is playing.

That is not an apt comparison. I already noted in my initial post that my comment applies to "any film that is not primarily the story of a musician." The Pianist is about a pianist and composer. The playing has to look realistic because it is a huge focus of the film. The best example of this type of authenticity that I've ever seen occurred in Control, a biopic of the late Ian Curtis. The four actors portraying the members of the band Joy Division learned to sing and play their instruments so well that they recorded the songs for the movie's soundtrack. The actors looked like they were playing because they actually were playing. But Lucille's piano playing in Crimson Peak is just not that important. It's a decorative footnote to the character, nothing more. There was no need to attempt to master Chopin just for that role. You should be pleased that the music was used, rather than staring at the actor's hands and finding fault with the simulation.

[–] VVolfySnackrib 8 years ago

That is not an apt comparison. I already noted in my initial post that my comment applies to "any film that is not primarily the story of a musician." The Pianist is about a pianist and composer. The playing has to look realistic because it is a huge focus of the film. The best example of this type of authenticity that I've ever seen occurred in Control, a biopic of the late Ian Curtis. The four actors portraying the members of the band Joy Division learned to sing and play their instruments so well that they recorded the songs for the movie's soundtrack. The actors looked like they were playing because they actually were playing. But Lucille's piano playing in Crimson Peak is just not that important. It's a decorative footnote to the character, nothing more. There was no need to attempt to master Chopin just for that role. You should be pleased that the music was used, rather than staring at the actor's hands and finding fault with the simulation.

There's several scenes where Lucille is portrayed as playing the piano in this movie. The way they neglected to drill the actress into shape for that aspect of the role is indicative of its laid back attitude when it comes to overall quality of the finished picture as a whole. If it doesn't put in effort in all aspects that it can address, then the overall quality of the movie will suffer. This movie will never be in the same league as far superior pictures, such as Interview with the Vampire. That movie doesn't have a focus on piano that can be considered to be as huge as for instance "The Pianist", but it went the extra mile in all aspects of its production.

Another aspect where it shines far more than Crimson Peak is how subtle its special effects were. They put maximum effort into the making of their effects, and a lot of their painstaking effects isn't consciously noticed by most, but even so they result in an uneasy realism that resonates perfectly with the overall movie, which is exactly what they were going for. Of course, they had the best in the business working to make those effects happen. Watch the making of Interview with the Vampire and you might just be blown away by their attention to detail.
I'm not saying that aspects of Crimson Peak didn't have a high attention to detail, I mean the mansion looked amazing. I just wish they'd have put in equal effort in all other aspects of that movie, and perhaps it had been far more than the easily forgotten mediocrity that it is. If you don't care enough to make the decorative footnotes of your characters convincing, then how can we as an audience be expected to accept the characters as convincing and three dimensional?

And as for being pleased that the music was used, yes. I would say I am rather pleased. I'm also rather pleased that she failed so hard at it as she did, because if not, I'd have already moved on from this movie with a "meh". That was one genuine bad quality of the movie that gave me something to rant about, and because of it I'll always have a strong reaction to the movie Crimson Peak. And that's more than I can say for most mediocre movies that only fill me with a disgust at how mediocre they are and how they absolutely fail at catching my interest. Crimson Peak is at the higher end of mediocrity, because I sat through it and found it well worth the watch in spite of considering it a mediocrity simply because it had a bunch of subjective content that I happen to enjoy as a viewer. But past that, it had very little to offer. It's been a joy to bash this movie for its lack of attention in a place where it really mattered.

[–] GravityCakes 8 years ago

As a side note, thanks for mentioning Control. That is a brilliant film, and as you point out the lengths the actors went to to play the actual Joy Dvision songs and imitate Ian Curtis' voice and movements. That was a brilliant film (but I understand that it belonged to an entirely different genre)

"Hearts and kidneys are tinker toys! I am talking about the central nervous system!"

[–] LifeVsArt 8 years ago

I wasn't sure you were serious with this OP. Actually, Jessica Chastain took piano lessons to learn to play the Chopin piece - obviously, she only needed to learn the closing, simple, dramatic section where she's very briefly on camera, not the complex earlier part where she's off camera. With all due respect (as they say) what is the issue here? This is so representative of all the trivial, superficial critiques you see on IMdb - some of its funny, but a lot is just ridiculously negative, focusing on off-the-wall, imagined flaws ("I'm so much smarter than the filmmaker" types of statements - even when the director is a genius). At least IMdb is just a bunch of opinions, some well thought out, but mostly not - the thing is you see more and more so-called critics who also seem to have little insight into what they're reviewing.

I didn't cringe, and I also happen to be a pianist.

[–] VVolfySnackrib 8 years ago

I guess you slackers set low standards. If I was the director of the movie, I'd have not tolerated such fake looking piano playing. If she remained such a poor piano player, I'd just have CGI'd her face on top of a real pianist. And if you consider Del Toro a genius, then you are way too easily impressed. Do you also consider Paul W.S. Anderson a genius? Or M. Knight Shyamalan?
You call yourself a pianist, do you mean that you're just okay on the piano and are a hobby player like me, or do you possess the skill to pull off very complex pieces, such as those by Chopin? If you play the piano and had no reaction to her playing Chopin that slowly and look left and right before putting her fingers down, I'm speechless at how forgiving you are.

[–] LifeVsArt 8 years ago

I'm speechless at how forgiving you are.

"Speechless" isn't the word I would use to describe you. As I said, I see your focus as being trivial, along with being highly subjective (I think you miss the point) - still, people see what they see, one person's work of art is another's piece of garbage. I can't imagine that you've seen the extra features of "Crimson Peak", or watched del Toro's director's commentary - if you haven't you might find them fascinating, they reveal an almost maniacal attention to detail.

[–] VVolfySnackrib 8 years ago

Well, personally I can't comprehend anyone who is obsessed with detail in his movies to miss something like the piano playing that is worthy of ridicule. Even if he's meticulous about the detail and effort he puts in his movies, it doesn't change the fact that typically he ends up giving us Pacific Rim, Hellboy 2, and I personally am not a fan of Blade II... unless we start talking about Blade III. I'll always give praise to Pan's Labyrinth which is one of the singular best movies I have ever seen, but just because he's got one major masterpiece that blows my mind, that just makes it comparable to how Shyamalan did The 6th Sense. Although Pan's Labyrinth is far better than The 6th Sense. Also, kind of nice to see that kind of war commentary with such acts of brutality without it being about "oh no, the poor Jews!", it's almost like they have a patent on brutality in war movies.

[–] norman-dostal 8 years ago

Wolfy you need to get laid ASAP! Guillermo is a genius- everyone who has seen Pans Labyrinth thinks so. Check it out!
Jessica learning to play the piano herself is actually impressive.

[–] Sugarminx 7 years ago

"Speechless" isn't the word I would use to describe you.



Well said.

OP is pretty amusing. We get it, you know how to play the piano! 

"Puss rules!"
"It's Pus"

[–] omgjayde 8 years ago

Maybe the way she plays it serves as part of her character development, instead of what you perceive to be lazy production values. She says in the film that they were never allowed in the study where the piano was as children. That they would hear their Mother playing it. She also says that she likes to think the painting of her mother is watching. She spends a fair amount of time meaning around at that piano, and the piano could be an example of another thing she has taken as her own to play with against her mothers wishes.

Add to that the fact that we find out after the Mother died, when she was 12 or 14, she was sent to a convent. I am unsure of her age in the film, but one could reason when she was old enough to be released from the convent school, and they reunited back at Allenberg, she began self teaching herself on how to play the piano.

Therefore, maybe she's not supposed to be masterful on the piano, as the piano itself is symbolism of her betrayal against her mother.

[–] writegirl1-2 8 years ago

Therefore, maybe she's not supposed to be masterful on the piano, as the piano itself is symbolism of her betrayal against her mother.

I don't think anyone in that era was supposed to be masterful unless you were a concert performer. Ladies of all types of varying quality played "to entertain politely". Pitchy female singers in the households were asked "to sing" by guests to gratify their vanity, and because it was cheaper than hiring professionals for every at-home salon day.

[–] CloverCandy 8 years ago

Is this post a joke? If this was a biopic about a piano player i could see how it would bother someone, but its not so who cares? Nobody is paying that much attention to her hands. Her playing isnt a huge part of the story so why would the director make it a big deal to be perfect? That would be a stupid waste of time. I feel bad for you that you feel the need to pick apart something so trivial. It shows a desperate lack of a decent personality, a lack of appreciation for the hard work put in to this film, and probably a lack of friends who are worth anything because you appear to be an utter snob. You are the person that everyone dreads having to seat near in the theater. Why not put your energy into something more worthwhile?

[–] Mikee333 8 years ago

How would you rate the piano playing by Tom Hanks in Big?

[–] reaseltbim 8 years ago

this troll post made me laugh. you did good, very funny 

[–] IvyTempleton 8 years ago

Holy cow. Were you OK with the rest of the film?

[–] JimB-4 8 years ago

A. Lucille is not supposed to be an especially gifted player.

B. Jessica Chastain, not a pianist, studied for months to be able to play to the demands of the production. No laziness or slackery involved.

C. While scenes did show Jessica playing, the close-ups of the hands were filmed with a master pianist at the keyboard, pretending to be a player of Lucille's quality.

D. I have a leading role in the film and was standing there as the ballroom piano scene was shot.