The Snapshot: Thanks to three creative men with the last name Washington, August Wilson’s legacy is done proud in a compelling family drama about a piano, a ghost and a fearsome debate.
The Piano Lesson
Rating: 9 out of 10
14A, 2hrs 5mins. Drama.
Directed and co-written by Malcolm Washington.
Starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins and Skylar Alice Smith.
Now streaming on Netflix.
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To sell or not to sell: that is the question.
It’s the central question in Malcom Washington’s The Piano Lesson, the soul-stirring and razor-sharp family drama now streaming and playing in select theatres.
What originally began as Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play almost 40 years ago has been carefully and attentively adapted for the screen in a family affair appropriate of one of the plot’s familial themes.
Not only has this story stood the test of time, the verbal and ethical brawl between Boy Willie (played by John David Washington) and Berniece (played by Danielle Deadwyler) has been amplified today with its wrought moral quandary about family, legacy and ownership.
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, The Piano Lesson centres on two days of debates between siblings Boy Willie and Berniece about what to do with their family’s heirloom piano, decorated with wood carvings of their enslaved ancestors.
While a two-hour chat about a piano doesn’t seem like compelling drama, there are two great cases: Boy Willie wants to sell it and buy the farmland his family was once enslaved on. Berniece, however, believes their family went through too much to protect the heirloom and thinks its value under their care is priceless.
That’s an outstanding premise and conflict for a story, ripe with suspense about how the family can resolve these two unmovable opinions. Wilson’s play and the screenwriting from Washington and Virgil Williams is rich with detail, insight and intrigue that ultimately builds to a suspenseful, almost supernatural surprise.
Director and co-writer Washington makes a grand debut with this feature but he’s got expert familial support: his father, and Hollywood legend, Denzel Washington is a producer and his brother John David stars as Willie.
Together, the efforts of all three family members in their respective areas of expertise melds together to effectively respect the source material.
This is the second time Netflix has adapted one of Wilson’s well-known plays from his Pittsburgh Cycle series. The streamer already spun its take on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which saw equal creative success in 2020 and went on to win two Oscars — a now famous snub for Chadwick Boseman as Best Actor that year, just after he died.
This adaptation actually began as a stage revival on Broadway back in 2022, with half of the principal cast reprising their roles on screen, including stars Washington, Jackson, Potts and Fisher.
Netflix’s film version of that same production, however, highlights the supernatural elements far greater, so that this now feels like a full, unapologetic ghost story.
Two years ago, I actually had the good fortune of seeing that production in New York, and while it was well-made, I found the story and its connecting details much clearer in the film than on stage. It’s also much easier to understand the thick character dialects on screen with precise sound mixing instead of in an 1,100 seat theatre.
Every member of the cast gives stellar performances but the main scene stealers are Michael Potts as Wining Boy and Ray Fisher’s hysterical and sweet Lymon. Samuel L. Jackson also delivers an incredible monologue recounting the titular piano’s history.
In all, it’s hard to describe the heights of drama The Piano Lesson achieves without spoiling its plot, but thanks to some excellent direction and editing from Malcolm Washington, Wilson’s great work will now get to live on for a new generation in a way that does the original play proud.
