``was The Ice Slippery?'' Was One Of My Favorite Examples Of Journalism At Its 
Finest.

Anthony Gaughan 
Feb. 17, 1994 
Anthony Gaughan, 72, Of Kingston, Died Thursday At Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, 
Kingston.

By JOE BUTKIEWICZ; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, February 19, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 3C QUICK WORDS: HOLLY HUNTER 





ike many an actor and actress with a distinguishing voice, Holly Hunter may
have felt trapped by the harsh rasp that has given an edge to some of her
performances. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There's some irony, then, that the accolades have been showering Hunter for
her performance in director Jane Champion's rapturous romantic drama, "The
Piano." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Because in the movie, Hunter plays a mute woman who expresses herself
through her exceptionally precocious daughter and by playing her beloved
piano. Audiences have been rightfully amazed by Hunter's ability to express a
range of emotion, speaking only in the flat tone of the voice in her mind. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Months after release in major markets, Champion's thoughtful drama received
eight Academy Award nominations (including best picture, director and actress)
and has escaped the art house circuit into general release. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The Piano," however, is not a feel-good film. Set in the 19th century,
Hunter plays Ada, a Scottish mail order bride who is sold to a land owner in
distant and rugged New Zealand. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stewart (Sam Neill) is a quiet, practical man, concerned with neither his
new wife's inability to speak or the burdensome piano she has struggled to
bring with her to the beach where she arrives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There's something to be said for silence," he says. The piano, he says,
can stay on the beach. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stewart appears a modestly successful pioneer with visions of burning a
farm into the forest. But the audience gradually sees he is an uncaring penny
pincher who never understands his new wife or hears the soul she reveals in
the piano. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There's a similar revelation in neighbor Baines (Harvey Keitel), a white
settler who wears the facial tattoos of the Maori natives. Baines appears a
gruff, stocky bull of a man, an uncouth illiterate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But this ruffian also strains to express himself. He bargains with Stewart
for possession of the piano, then for music lessons from Ada. Sequestered in
Baines' thatch hut, the deal making continues. Baines will return the piano to
Ada a key at a time. For each lesson, a key. Then he offers two keys to touch
her arm; five if she'll remove her jacket; and on and on. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Champion reveals her characters at an admirably restrained pace. Initially
Baines appears to be a cad taking advantage of Ada but gradually, he's
revealed as an emotional man, a romantic, yearning in brusque fashion for
gentle love. In many ways, he is as mute as the Ada he adores. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Just as these male characters are unfolded, so is Ada. In Victorian-era
clothing, she's trussed tight, pale and plain. Yet she is visibly beautiful,
alluring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And Ada positively glows when she plays the piano (Hunter actually
performs) or speaks through her precocious young daughter Flora, played
colorfully by young Anna Paquin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An actor infamous for violent characters, Keitel brings nuance to Baines.
But it is Hunter who delivers an acting triumph through the entire movie. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The love scenes between Keitel and Hunter, several in the nude, have cause
a lot of talk about "the Piano," but the movie is never more electric then
when Baines first touches Ada's skin through a tiny hole in her stocking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Champion also provides the movie with a moment of stunning, cauterizing
violence when a vengeful Stewart takes from Ada her ability to communicate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But even in that,

`piano'