[yasr_overall_rating]
A documentary by actor Ethan Hawke on The life and philosophy of 87 year old pianist, teacher and mentor; Seymour Bernstein.
“Seymour: An Introduction” documents the life of former professional pianist and current teacher and mentor; Seymour Bernstein along with his philosophy on living it. Though I am unsure how many questions are answered in this film, the manner in which they are asked makes the 87 year old Seymour Bernstein an intriguing character. It quickly becomes clear why Seymour Bernstein is a teacher and mentor figure. While I don’t believe the affect he had on Hawke was fully translated into this documentary; enough of it was to be worth watching. The outstanding editing allows this movie to flow freely throughout its 120 minutes, even if its true objective remains open ended. Ethan Hawke’s quest to find meaning in his life while understanding his increasing stage fright took an interesting turn upon meeting Seymour Bernstein through a mutual friend.
Bernstein gave up the commercial aspect of piano performance to become a teacher and composer. While Hawke never does get clear cut answers on his quest for authenticity in this documentary, he seems to get closer to what he’s searching for. Bernstein, who lives in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan, and has done so for the majority of his adult life, challenges the idea of success and how our society defines it. This unique philosophy inspires Hawke to apply it to his own craft of acting. Despite its overall allure, the documentary becomes preachy at points. A scene in which a couple of fellow pianists complain to Bernstein about people’s lack of respect for the craft of playing the piano, and the hours of practice that it takes to be able to play so easily. While they are correct in their assessment, merely talking about it doesn’t do much to engage an audience and detracts from the films overall likeability.
The documentary is at its best when we see Bernstein in action as a teacher of his students and as a mentor to Ethan Hawke and others. It is there where we can see his affect rather than hear it described. Overall “Seymour: An Introduction” is a refreshing documentary on the life and philosophy of 87 year old pianist Seymour Bernstein and how it can be applied to our own. Though it has a few moments of overt preaching and self-congratulations, the majority of viewers will be able to look beyond that and to the core of its message. Ethan Hawke manages to flip the script on what people might expect from him and provide audiences with a different point of view than they are used to.
“Seymour: An Introduction” opens at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and at the Angelika of Plano April 17th
