“The Piano Lesson” Review
John David Washington (Left) and Skylar Aleece Smith star in “The Piano Lesson”, a cinematic adaptation of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning play by August Wilson.
Nearly a decade ago, Denzel Washington committed himself to bringing the plays of August Wilson, the Tony-award and two-time-Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright, to the big screen with “Fences” which Washington directed, produced and starred in. In 2020, Washington produced “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” which was just as much of a critical darling as “Fences” with specific praise for the haunting performance by Chadwick Boseman, who died months before the film’s release. Now, another August Wilson adaptation has arrived to limited theaters and a wide release on Netflix with “The Piano Lesson”. Like its predecessors, this adaptation startlingly retains the brilliance of Wilson’s writing while bringing a lush cinematic quality to an already marvelous drama.
Set in 1936, Boy Willie Charles (John David Washington) ventures from his hometown in Mississippi to Pittsburgh with his best friend Lymon (Ray Fisher) with the intent on raising some money to buy some land of his own. Along with selling some watermelons they brought from the South, Boy Willie visits his sister Bernice (Danielle Deadwyler) and uncles Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) and Wining Boy (Michael Potts) with the intention of selling their family’s prized piano which features unique carvings from their enslaved ancestors. But as the discussions about the piano, their family and the history of both begin to grow heated, the ghosts of the past come back to haunt the Charles family.
The announcement of this adaptation didn’t exactly come out of left field. Not only has Denzel Washington continually made these films a strong priority but “The Piano Lesson” comes off the heels of a successful Broadway revival of the play from 2022. The revival featured John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts and Samuel L. Jackson in the same roles they play in the film and it shows from their deeply rich performances. John David Washington in particular embodies the volatile humanity that so often appears in Wilson’s leading male characters and that Chadwick Boseman and Denzel Washington had previously brought to film. Boy Willie is so full of life and frustration and is searching for a way to live life on his own terms instead of under the supervision of bosses and masters like his ancestors before him. It’s a vivacious turn that continuously shows us why John David Washington is one of the most outstanding actors of this past generation.
Equally deserving of praise is Danielle Deadwyler who delivers this monumental showcase of pain and strength as she wrestles with the spirits hidden in that piano, her family struggles and raising her young daughter Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith). The conflict between Bernice and Boy Willie really grips you because she isn’t too thrilled about having the piano in her home but she also has no intention to sell it. Over the course of the narrative, her relationship with the instrument as well as those with Boy Willie, Lymon and her beau Avery Brown (Corey Hawkins) unfold and result in a deeply vulnerable performance that was beautiful to witness.
Directed by Malcolm Washington, who wrote the script with Virgil Williams, every frame has this rich texture to it. There’s a richness to every scene and it fills the screen with such urgency. While the cinematic medium allows for larger settings and greater movement as opposed to the confines of a stage, there is still this intentional feeling of claustrophobia that emerges as the drama comes out to play and knocks all of these characters to the ground. What’s even more extraordinary is that this is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut which begs the question, how can this miraculous first film be topped? Well, if Malcolm has the talent of his father and brother (which he clearly does), then we can be sure to see great things on the horizon for this filmmaker.
Ultimately, it’s hard not to place a lot of the glory on the shoulders of August Wilson whose play was the roadmap to this extraordinary film. Like with “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, the film is extraordinarily faithful to Wilson’s work and he acts like a posthumous maestro, guiding this film from beyond the grave. With Wilson, his dialogue is so captivating and the social drama he weaves makes the audience forget that they’re watching a story unfold. They’re living with these characters who feel so extraordinarily real. None of that is lost in the film adaptation and “The Piano Lesson” is just one more bright light in the dazzling image of Wilson’s legacy.
With “The Piano Lesson”, it takes you places that you weren’t expecting, even if you’re familiar with what August Wilson writes about. It is an engaging look at the collective trauma a family inherits and how people cope with that history and legacy. It’s chilling, it’s funny, it’s musical and it’s a must-watch as awards season comes into full swing. If I have to wait another four years or eight years or twenty years for another August Wilson adaptation, I’ll understand the time needed to carefully craft this film but it just won’t be soon enough.
