The premise of this movie is great (if not super original), and the acting is outstanding. But as a whole this movie is a bit of a disappointment. I think my main problem with the film is the editing. The editor seems restless with the slow pace of the scenes and tries to speed things up by hard cutting. But this just leads to the fact that each scene ends at the very point where it starts getting interesting. The jumping back and forth between the subplot (the piano teachers love story in the past) and the main plot (the same teacher teaching a young criminal to play) is often confusing and creates distance to the viewer. The subplot also doesn't really tie in to the main plot and should probably have been left out altogether. The final scene where the girl triumphantly plays the piano would have been so much more efficient and touching if shot in just one long take, now the editor tries to compete with the girl's virtuous skills and again, it creates distance and makes the whole sequence feel fake and pompous. I still recommend this film because of the great actors and a nice story.
Review of Four Minutes
