'The Piano Lesson' Review: Latest August Wilson Adaptation is a Terrific and Haunting Family Affair [TIFF 2024]
Denzel Washington’s ambition to bring all ten of playwright August Wilson’s plays to the screen reaches its peak with this powerful drama with a hint of the supernatural.
August Wilson is arguably one of the most respected and beloved playwrights to ever write for the stage. His 10 plays that encompass what is referred to as ‘The Philadelphia Cycle’ each take place over a different decade in the 20th century and reflect what Black America was like each era dealing with issues like race relations, poverty and identity. All ten plays earned Wilson Tony nominations when they premiered on Broadway and he received two Pulitzer Prize Awards For Drama. Even after his death in 2005, Wilson’s work still continues to have an impact on the arts with many award winning revivals. in 2016, Denzel Washington made it his mission to bring all ten plays to the screen when he starred in and directed the film adaptation of Fences which he already won a Best Actor Tony for the Broadway revival. The film earned critical acclaim, a Best Picture and Actor nomination for Washington and won Viola Davis Best Supporting Actress. In 2020, Washington and Netflix followed that up with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom earning acting noms for Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. With another contentious election comes another adaptation of a Wilson play and The Piano Lesson has become a family affair as Denzel once again acts a producer with his director son Malcolm helming and his actor son John David being one of the leads. The result is the most cinematic of Wilson’s work to date filled with thrilling performances and an almost Southern-Gothic tone.
The film starts off on Independence Day 1911 in rural Mississippi. As a white family is enjoying fireworks on their plantation, three black men, led by Boy Charles (Stephan James) break into the house to take a beautiful heirloom piano that is carved with the faces of their enslaved ancestors Meanwhile, Charles’ son Boy Willie is standing guard as the men get the piano away from the plantation and eventually split up. Willie goes with his uncles and the piano to escape to freedom in Pittsburgh while Charles sacrifices himself to the white plantation owners so that his family escapes safely.
In 1936, a now grown up Boy Willie (John David Washington) and his friend Lymon (Ray Fisher) arrive in Pittsburgh at the home of his Uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) which is also shared by Boy Willie’s sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) and her daughter Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith). He tells Bernice that he has come to collect and sell the piano so that he can claim the land that their grandfather worked on as a slave now that the previous white owner has died. Berniece, on the other hand, refuses to part with it as she sees it as a reminder of everything her family suffered in the past so that she and Boy Willie could enjoy their freedom. With both siblings seeing the piano as representative of their family’s history in different ways, tensions rise between them as Berniece finds herself being haunted by the ominous spirit of the white slave masters that owned her family.
Adapting any play to the screen is no small task given the limited locations often used as well as it being more of an actor and writer driven medium rather than one for directors to stretch their visual style. Malcolm Washington isn’t able to completely shake off The Piano Lesson’s stage roots as a good chunk of the film takes place in Uncle Doaker’s home and is very dialogue heavy. Unlike Fences and Ma Rainey, however, director Washington is able to make it seem like a real cinematic experience rather than just a filmed version of the play. The opening scene has some great cinematography moments as red, white and blue light from the fireworks flash on the screen as the men take the piano which gives it an extravagant feel while also signaling the tension that will take center stage for the rest of the movie.
The supernatural elements give it a haunting feeling and reflect each of the characters’ pains and issues like something out of a Southern Gothic. It also does an excellent job staying true to the themes prevalent in Wilson’s play such as family, grief and moving forward with the titular piano at the center of it all. For Berniece, it represents everything that has been sacrificed by her ancestors and by not selling it, she feels she’s keeping her family’s spirit alive. On the other hand, Boy Willie, although very much respectful of the piano’s lineage, sees selling it as a way to build on what his predecessors sacrificed to secure and that the money made off it can allow him to take over the land that past generations of his family worked with him now in charge and he sees it as a way of honoring the past while building an even better future. Wilson’s script does a great job at not saying one sibling’s idea is better than the other and presents both sides in a fair way.
As Boy Willie, John David Washington is strong although at times he succumbs to acting like he’s on stage rather than a film. Corey Hawkins has some solid moments as Avery, a local preacher who harbors feelings for Berniece. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his Tony nominated role as Uncle Doaker and while he gives a strong performance, most of the time he feels underutilised. However, one scene where Jackson shines is when he, Boy Willie and Lymon sing an old prison song. Danielle Deadwyler is phenomenal as Berniece giving a performance of nuance that is heart wrenching. She makes you feel Berniece’s pain at being a widowed black woman in the 30s trying to raise her daughter and hold on to her family’s legacy. This could have been an unlikeable character but Deadwyler gives her layers that as the film progresses we get to see unravel more and more. Robbed of an Oscar nomination two years ago for her role in Till, Deadwyler should find herself back in the awards race this time around and continue to solidify herself as one of the most talented actresses working today
The Piano Lesson faithfully brings August Wilson’s words to the screen while also making itself standout as a cinematic experience in comparison to his other adaptations. It can be uneven at times with tone but phenomenal acting, strong themes and outstanding production values make this a tune worth playing.