The Piano Lesson, 2024.
Directed by Malcolm Washington.
Starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, Gail Bean, Jerrika Hinton, Stephan James, and Skylar Aleece Smith.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.
Sometimes, a piano is more than a piano. In the case of co-writer/director Malcolm Washington (adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning play from August Wilson alongside Virgil Williams) The Piano Lesson and the 1930s, Pittsburgh-based Charles family at its center, it is a family artifact engraved with wooden pictures across multiple generations. It was also reclaimed from slaveowners during a Fourth of July celebration 20+ years prior, but not without a cost that looms large over the story.
The piano now remains in this home, with Danielle Deadwyler’s fiercely independent but somewhat traumatized and broken Berniece unable to play it. It exists as a piece of history, a reminder of what previous generations have gone through, and as a memory of them, something not to be displaced or sold off for cash. Enter John David Washington’s Boy Willie and his trusty friend Lymon (a charming, smooth-talking, and sometimes funny Ray Fisher), with a truckload of watermelons and an ambitious dream.
The last remaining member of the Sutter family has met their demise after falling down a well, something that apparently happens more often than one would assume, leaving people speculating whether or not it is the work of ancestral slaves from beyond the grave. Nevertheless, Boy Willie has an opportunity to purchase the land that has brought on so much horror and pain, so long as he can sell all of those watermelons and that piano. Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Doaker immediately chimes in with a laugh, assuring Boy Willie that Berniece is not going to let anyone sell it and that people have been poking around looking to purchase it.
Naturally a stagey cinematic experience (with several instances of swirling camera movements), The Piano Lesson quickly transitions into a series of debates about what to do with that piano, with Boy Willie arguing that even if it does have value, it shouldn’t be sitting around when it could be used to give their family the upper hand in life finally. There are more layers than that, though, as the more we learn about these characters, the more it becomes clear that this film is about people stuck in the past and those determined to do whatever they can to move forward. Heightening tensions further is that Bernice hasn’t even bothered to tell her young daughter the piano history, something Boy Willie vows to do if she doesn’t.
More characters also arrive, such as a preacher played by Corey Hawkins, who wants to start a church after a life of questionable choices. He also happens to have unrequited feelings for Bernice and encourages her to play the piano again. As for Uncle Doaker, he chooses to stay out of the drama while cracking a joke here and there and eventually narrating the piano’s backstory with his signature charisma and sense of humor, even considering the dark circumstances here.
No one will be surprised to learn that John David Washington is phenomenal in the role of Boy Willie; he adds kineticism whenever he is on screen, constantly making small acting choices, gestures, and mannerisms that give the character a greater sense of depth. Expectedly, it’s also an intense turn from a performer evoking the speech patterns of his legendary father, Denzel Washington, while also carving out his path on screen. That intensity typically collides with the headstrong Danielle Deadwyler, making for explosive scenes that are pure August Wilson. The metaphor isn’t particularly subtle, but this film is about what to do with such a painful history, who owns it, and how to move on.
Some of the sub-stories revolving around that central arc are less compelling, although they do fit into the overarching theme of past and present, which is someone either stuck there or fighting to move forward. The actual significant misstep here is that The Piano Lesson takes the previously mentioned supernatural implication and runs wild with it for a horror climax that not only feels out of place but also brings the symbolism to the forefront far too bluntly. To say that things get ridiculous is an understatement. The Piano Lesson fares much better as a family drama about the past and future. Flaws aside, Malcolm Washington’s filmmaking is always dynamic, and the ensemble is dynamite, always playing the right notes whether it’s family drama or a supernatural ghost story.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published November 5, 2024. Updated November 6, 2024.
