It stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin in her first major acting role.

The film focuses on a mute Scottish woman who travels to a remote part of New Zealand with her young daughter after her arranged marriage to a settler.

It was noted for its crossover appeal beyond the arthouse circuit to attracting mainstream popularity, largely due to rave reviews and word of mouth.

In the mid-1800s,[8] Ada McGrath, a Scottish woman with elective mutism, travels to colonial New Zealand with her daughter Flora for an arranged marriage to settler Alisdair Stewart.

The next day, Alisdair arrives with his Māori crew and neighbour George Baines, a retired sailor who's adapted to Maori customs, including facial tattoos.

Once at the beach, he is entranced by her music and appears charmed by her happy ways when she is playing, in contrast to her stern behaviour when in the farm.

Shortly after, Ada instructs Flora to deliver a package to George, which contains a piano key with a love declaration engraved on it.

Enraged after reading the message, Alisdair cuts off Ada's index finger, depriving her of the ability to play the piano.

In the epilogue, Ada describes her new life with George and Flora in Nelson, New Zealand, where she gives piano lessons in their new home.

George has made her a metal finger to replace the one she lost, and Ada has been practicing and taking speech lessons.

[10] Isabelle Huppert met with Jane Campion and had vintage period-style photographs taken of her as Ada, and later said she regretted not fighting for the role as Hunter did.

Roger Ebert wrote: "The Piano is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen" and "it is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling".

[24] In his 2013 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave the film three and half out of four stars, calling the film a "haunting, unpredictable tale of love and sex told from a woman's point of view" and went on to say "writer-director Campion has fashioned a highly original fable, showing the tragedy and triumph erotic passion can bring to one's daily life".

The website's critical consensus reads: "Powered by Holly Hunter's main performance, The Piano is a truth-seeking romance played in the key of erotic passion.

The main musical score "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is based on the traditional Scottish song "Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa'" [58][59] The film was released on VHS on May 25, 1994.

Initial fears in leadup to its release were in relation to the films status as "arty" and "non-mainstream," however its nominations and success at the Academy Awards guaranteed it profitability in the home video market.

[62] On 11 August 2021, the Criterion Collection announced their first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate, will include The Piano.