Personal Response
I really enjoyed watching this movie. I believe the main theme was desire, love, and passion. Ada is a very passionate person who cares deeply about her piano, and it shows. George also loved the piano at first; then he fell in love with her. But the first thing that attracted him was the beautiful music.
One character that intrigued me a lot was Alisdair. Honestly, I think he is very lame. He does not know how to make a move on his own wife. He tries to force love and reciprocity when they are basically strangers. He never senses that the only way to receive affection from Ada is to respect her love for music and for the piano, and he never gets it. He does not understand how important it is to her, and he does not even make the effort. He also shows no compassion for a woman who just left her country, is mute, and is only asking for one thing. Of course she was never going to like him.
What truly caught my attention is that he does not get mad right away when he discovers his wife cheating on him. He stays silent and spies on the situation. I believe he does not want to accept what he is seeing, and pretending nothing is happening feels easier. But when the incident with the piano key happened, he could no longer hide his anger and finally exploded.
On the other hand, I believe one of the main reasons Ada fell in love with George was because he actually respected the piano. He liked it, and he let her play. He kept his word and returned the piano to her, which meant the world to Ada.