Seymour: An Introduction - Barney's Incorrect Five Second Reviews

First new 2015 movie I've seen and it was a real good one.

It's a musical documentary done by Ethan Hawke on a great piano player turned even greater teacher who made a personal impact on him. I never thought Ethan Hawke was much of an actor but he does have a bit of Midas touch effect on many things he works on (Boyhood, Before Sunset/Sunrise) so I had to give this a shot.

The movie starts off pretty slow but it crescendos in the final act as you get to see the impact this man has had on others. I think this film is best viewed closely after seeing another great piano movie, Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, which I loved. That way you get to see the technical aspects of making a perfect instrument and then get to see a great master turning into something magic. If you watch these movies in sucession, I think you'll get a real kick of seeing all the work that goes into making these grand pianos followed by Seymour strolling into the Steinway showroom, playing just a few notes on some of the finished pianos and dismissing them, "terrible!" "horror of horrors!"

If you like piano or music at all, I think you'll get a real kick out of this. There's a pretty stirring introspective moment for Hawke too which I really enjoyed.

Heart rating: 5 stars

Brain rating: 4 stars