I didn't find the diving-into-ocean scene at the end to be "beautiful"; I thought it was pretty ridiculous. In fact it reminded me of the end of CAPE FEAR when what's his name (the DeNiro character) keeps resurfacing -- only I don't think THE PIANO was supposed to provoke any terror or suspense. Someone I know thought this scene was a welcome contrast to the typical C19 Victorian novel in which the heroine has to die. Well... My problem is that this treatment was undeserved by the narrative up to that point; it made something seem plausible that the movie otherwise had indicated would not be plausible. Wasn't the point of the movie to show a woman making the best she could out of a pretty horrific set of circumstances -- but without being able to reconcile the contradictions within herself (I mean that silly not speaking thing set her up as being pretty inept at overcoming internal contradictions!)? Of course the cinematography was delightful...