The Piano Lesson

I caught this at a Tiff screening on Sept 11, 2024 and it did not disappoint. The film is adapted by a play of the same name by August Wilson, which follows two siblings, one who want to sell a precious family heirloom (Washington), a piano, for money, the other (Deadwyler) who wants to keep it. The acting in the film, especially from Deadwyler is unreal; you cannot avert your eyes from her performance, as well as strong supporting actors the entire time. The film itself, while the slightest bit too long, is very well made. Malcolm Washington comes in strong with his directorial feature debut, and has a promising future ahead. The film is deeply disturbing and at times plays a bit too much into supernatural elements, but overall, if you are looking for a good thriller with great performances, this should be on your radar when it releases on Netflix.

I was really hoping I'd love this, but I didn't. It was visually authentic, but the music was completely destroyed! How do you miss on something as important as the music, in this play??? The "Berta Berta" scene was completely altered, and "Rambling, Gambling Man" was nowhere to be found. Damn shame. They also never show the Yellow Dog train, just smoke! What?

Don't get me started on how stupid they made Lymon. He wasn't dumb in the play, just lonely, naive, and sensitive. I really hated his portrayal. Secondly, Charles Dutton will forever be my favorite Boy Willie. Baby boy Washington just wasn't getting it.

It's not completely messed up, just too different for my tastes. The Washingtons should have just kept the classic aspects in tact.

The Piano Lesson, delves into the lives of a Black family grappling with their history during a time marked by oppression and loss. The story focuses on Bernice (Danielle Deadwyler) and her daughter, who live with her uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson). The plot unfolds as Bernice's brother, Boy Willie (John David Washington), visits, and we gradually uncover the family's past, including the mystery of Bernice's late husband and the deep significance of their treasured piano.

The film explores weighty themes such as Black slavery, grief, guilt, single motherhood, and moral dilemmas. Adapted from August Wilson's play, part of his celebrated Pittsburgh Cycle (which also includes Fences and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), the movie carries a similar pacing and tone, though it feels closer to Fences in structure.

Danielle Deadwyler delivers an outstanding performance, portraying Bernice with emotional depth and nuance. She is undoubtedly a rising star, evoking comparisons to Viola Davis. Her performance deserves serious awards consideration. By contrast, I found John David Washington's portrayal of Boy Willie overacted, making it harder to connect with his character. Samuel L. Jackson and Ray Fisher (as Lymon) brought solid supporting performances, grounding the narrative effectively.

The cinematography and direction were immersive, giving the house and the piano a lived-in, almost iconic feel. The dialogue is beautifully written, seamlessly weaving past and present. While I found the ending slightly overdone, the film's overall impact remains strong.

I would rate The Piano Lesson a 7/10-higher than Ma Rainey's Black Bottom but slightly behind Fences. Danielle Deadwyler's performance alone makes this film worth watching, and the music and writing are nothing short of masterful.

My wife and I watched this at home, streaming. While it is a well-made movie and covers an interesting topic, we didn't find it very enjoyable. It is a movie adaptation of a stage play and it comes across that way, with loud dialog and broad gestures, with limited settings.

It is a Washington family project, Denzel is a producer, one of his sons is the director, another son stars as Boy Willie, and his wife also has a small role.

Samuel L. Jackson is in it but his role as uncle Doaker could have been played by anyone. John David Washington is Boy Willie, he is brash and angry all the way through and after a while I found him hard to watch. Danielle Deadwyler is really good as his sister Berniece. But she is unhappy the whole time because of the bombardment by her brother.

The gist is this, as we see in an opening scene from 1911 in Mississippi when the main characters are children there is a late-night theft of an old upright piano during a celebration event. The piano has sentimental value to the family because of their connection to some wood carvings that adorn the piano. In fact they didn't consider it a theft, they figured they were the rightful owners.

Bernice, now a single mother living in Pittsburgh in 1936, has the piano. However her brother, needing to raise money to try to buy some land back in Mississippi wants to take the piano and sell it. He doesn't make a request, he drives to Pittsburgh with a truckload of watermelons to sell along the way and expects to just take the piano. This creates the discord between the siblings.

The title may lead us to believe it involves piano lessons in the usual way, music instruction, but it isn't. It refers to the lessons a family learns with the piano as a central figure.

The Piano Lesson is a 2024 horror, drama and comedy starring John David Washington as Boy Willie, a young man who goes about doing business selling watermelons with his best friend Lymon (Ray Fisher). However, things start to take a turn drastically when the family home keeps a piano that is cursed with an evil spirit. As our protagonists start to do things like move the piano out of sight, the piano itself starts to haunt them supernaturally.

Adapted from a play, this story is very enjoyable and hilarious at times with it's cheery tone and marvellous acting. It may sound like a horror film but it really isn't, most of the characters that revolve around the piano actually have a nice build up until a haunting climax. All cast involved did a great job, including the impressive directorial debut of Malcolm Washington (whom I got to meet!) and the rest of the cast were great and they all had their unique personality, something not easy to do. But I think there's one character that stands above them all though, Lymon, oh what a character! He was kind of a gentle giant and his scenes throughout the movie are some of the best.

The only flaw with the film itself, and it's what got it a 7, some of the scenes really dragged out and were very slow but not all of them. For example, we have a really funny conversation about what clothes fit Lymon and that lasts about a few minutes but, no spoilers, there's this one argument around the halfway point that lasts quite a bit. I know it's a play but I'd rather have this time used on some of the perspectives of the characters rather than a argument to show powerful acting.

Overall, really great watch would highly recommend this when it comes out on November, most certainly a pleasant watch and very quotable. You will probably be watching this more than once when it hits netflix.

Grade: A

London film festival 12th October.