In The Piano Lesson, the Charles siblings disagree over the fate of a family heirloom. This new film adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play asks whether families can overcome their disagreements and the ghosts of their past to preserve their family’s legacy.
The Piano Lesson
Malcolm Washington (director and writer), Virgil Williams (writer), August Wilson (playwright), Michael Gioulakis (cinematography), Leslie Jones (editor)
Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Erykah Badu, Stephan James (cast)
September 10, 2024 (TIFF)
Set primarily in 1936, with flashbacks to 1911, The Piano Lesson follows the Charles family: Boy Willie (John David Washington), a man with big hopes; his sister, Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), a woman planning her and her daughter’s Maretha’s (Skylar Smith) future; that may or may not include Avery (Corey Hawkins), Berniece’s suitor who’s setting up his own church. Berniece and Maretha live with Berniece’s uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) and are often visited by Wining Boy (Michael Potts), the fun uncle who used to be a pianist. But their peaceful life is turned upside-down by a surprise visit from Boy Willie and his friend, Lymon (Ray Fisher), who’ve travelled from the Charles’ hometown of Mississippi to Pittsburgh where Bernice and Doaker live. The reason for Boy Willie’s visit? He’s got the opportunity to purchase the land that the Charles family was enslaved on. But he needs to sell their family heirloom: the piano that used to belong to the Sutter family who had enslaved the Charles family to make up the shortfall.
Brother and sister do not agree on the fate of the piano. Boy Willie associates it with the horrors of their childhood and would prefer it gone. Berniece sees it as a reminder of their family’s resilience. The tug of war between them starts off as amusing, for Doaker and the audience. But when a malevolent presence makes itself known in the home, Berniece becomes even more adamant that the piano must stay where it is. Can she convince her headstrong brother?
I caught the international premiere of The Piano Lesson at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). As it is on-screen, off-screen, The Piano Lesson is also a family affair. Produced by Denzel Washington, who has been bringing August Wilson’s plays to screen since 2016’s Fences, the film is executive-produced by Washington’s daughter, Katia Washington and features John David Washington as protagonist Boy Willie. His son, Malcolm Washington, was the co-written and director, his feature film directorial debut. Since there are so many Washingtons to name here, I’ll use their more distinct first names. Following the screening of the film, an overwhelmed Denzel said he was very proud of his son’s work on the film. As he should be.
Malcolm has accomplished a tough task with this adaptation–he’s transcended the original play format and embraced the silver screen. Adapted plays can often feel stationery, seeing as the original set was only one location–the stage. But cinema is much more dynamic and begs for movement. Even when scenes of The Piano Lesson are set in a single location, such as the kitchen, Malcolm gives viewers a variety of angles, has characters step in and out of the scene, and ensures the viewers eyes have something new to look at.
Some of the editing could have been tighter in the beginning. There are a couple of scenes where the dialogue is repetitive, which is humorous, but doesn’t move the plot forward. However, the editing in the denouement is so tight, tense, and euphoric, that I cannot fault the start of the film for being a little slower. I unfortunately can’t give away the ending, but the TIFF crowd fell completely silent, enraptured by the tension on screen. I’ve got chills just remembering it.
The tightness of that ending is gobsmacking, but where Malcolm really impresses is the way he put his actors through their paces. I am astounded by the performances in The Piano Lesson. Every single one of the actors delivers a performance I would never have associated with them. John David brings his expected charm, but Boy Willie’s dialect is so different from how John David speaks that I felt like I was watching a whole new man. Ray Fisher is astounding. His Lymon is a simpleton with a low, long drawl elongating his every sentence. Having watched Fisher before, I couldn’t believe how effortless he made Lymon’s speech seem, especially since it must have taken a lot of effort to pull it off.
Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Potts as the two uncles are delightful. They could be anyone’s uncles, joking and teasing, but also getting serious about the circumstances of their lives. Their easy camaraderie makes it clear that their characters are brothers, even without them saying so.
Corey Hawkins is a familiar face in Hollywood, and it’s good to see him get a meaty role. I honestly didn’t think Avery would be a big part of the story, but he gets a number of excellent scenes that allow Hawkins to bring his entire acting repertoire to the fore. Avery is a driven man, but he’s also passionate about Berniece. Yet, he doesn’t quite understand her needs as well as he thinks he does. Also, Hawkins gets some humorous moments that had the audience howling-laughing. That’s great work in my book.
I’m surprised by the fact that The Piano Lesson is the first I’m seeing of Daniel Deadwyler. She’s a force to reckon with. Her Berniece is a woman with a strong mind and even more powerful voice. She will have her way, and she doesn’t care who or what she has to go through to get it. But there’s also a deep vulnerability to Berniece because she has faced loss that she still doesn’t understand. She’s also had to help her own mother battle grief, all while she was grieving, and that leaves a mark. Deadwyler puts in such a mesmeric performance that I will be annoyed if her name doesn’t start circulating the awards circuit.
What I loved the most about the performances in this film was how expressive all the actors were even when the camera wasn’t on them. Jackson, John David, Potts, and Fisher reprise their roles from the Broadway production, and they’ve brought those stage skills to their work with the camera. But everyone in the cast is equally strong. Even in the funniest of scenes, there’s no facial mugging or scenery-chewing. The actors look like they’re making natural human expressions.
The performances are so engaging in The Piano Lesson, but they’re not the only reason why I was gripped by this film. There’s a moment in this film that speaks to the power of community, particularly Black communities. It’s a singalong for a few of the characters and is so beautiful and emotional I nearly scrapped my palms off clapping. And I wasn’t the only one. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.
There are other little details, like the piano itself which is stunningly gorgeous and yet such a reminder of the horrors of slavery that I wished we could have had longer scenes about the making of the piano itself. And there’s the horror aspect of the film, because yes, the haunting is a very real part of the film. The film has jump-scares, which aren’t too scary, but like most good horror films, the ghost itself isn’t the scary part. It’s what the ghost represents that’s terrifying.
I wanted to watch The Piano Lesson because I’ve been enjoying the August Wilson adaptations, and I’m so glad I managed to get to see this with a packed audience as invested in the story as I was. This film is an ode to Wilson’s body of work and is excellently crafted with astoundingly strong performances that I absolutely cannot wait to see again when it’s on Netflix.
