The Piano Lesson
Denzel Washington has made it his goal to adapt all of the late August Wilson’s plays into motion pictures. He personally directed “Fences” (2016) and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (2020). Now his son, Malcolm Washington, takes his turn in the director’s chair for “The Piano Lesson,” and in many ways, it is the best of the lot.
Doesn’t feel like a play
Unlike the previous two, “The Piano Lesson” doesn’t feel like a filmed play. In “Fences,” all the activity took place in the family room and the back porch. In “Ma Rainey,” Washington took some of the action away from the basement recording studio and out onto the streets, but it still gave viewers the impression of a stage play. Granted, Wilson’s works are plays, and it’s hard not to film them as such. But it’s not impossible. To wit, some of the greatest film musicals are adaptations of Broadway productions. Think “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” and “The Sound of Music.” If you didn’t know, you might not realize these were originally stage musicals.
Likewise, “The Piano Lesson” feels like an original screenplay. Kudos to Washington (and likely the guiding hand of his father) for filming as much of the screenplay as possible outside the kitchen and family room. In fact, “The Piano Lesson” (which is set in 1936 Pittsburgh) begins with a previous-generation backstory sequence from 1911 Mississippi. We aren’t quite sure what the 1911 scenes have to do with the story, but we know we’ll learn soon enough. (And extra kudos to Washington for beginning chronologically – rather than awkwardly flashing back to 1911 in the middle of the 1936 narrative.)
Two great leads
Completing the family circle, “The Piano Lesson” stars Malcolm Washington’s brother John David Washington (who was so good in Spike Lee’s “BlackKklansman”) as Boy Willie, who farms the same Mississippi land the Charles family has farmed for years – dating back to the time of slavery. But now, the longtime owner wants to sell the land to Boy Willie, and he needs to quickly raise enough money to purchase it. He and his friend Lymon (Ray Fisher) drive all the way to Pittsburgh with a truckload of watermelons they intend to sell to earn a portion of the required funds.
The piano
Boy Willie hopes to sell the Charles family piano to earn the rest. The only problem? The piano is housed in the Pittsburgh residence of Boy Willie’s sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), and she patently refuses to part with the longtime family heirloom. What’s so special about a piano which nobody in the family plays – save for Berniece’s young daughter, who is just beginning piano lessons? We’ll find out, and the story of the piano mirrors the plight of the Charles family, whose story mirrors the plight of Black America between the Civil War and the Great Depression. “The Piano Lesson” could easily be incorporated into college, or even high school, black history education. It’s that good; and that powerful. Kudos here to Wilson, perhaps the greatest of African American playwrights.
Big scenes
Although he receives top billing, Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Doaker (who lives with Berniece) is actually a supporting character. His “big scene” is the one in which he explains to Boy Willie the importance of the piano to the Charles family. As in all Wilson’s plays, each of the major characters has a big scene or two. Washington’s Boy Willie is so full of hope that his plan will work that he practically bleeds self-confidence as he pleads with his sister to part with the antique piano. Boy Willie is the classic showman. “Huckster” would be the wrong word, as this is an intelligent character, but you get the idea.
Deadwyler’s Berniece is reserved and firm in her dissent to her brother’s plan. Her big scene is the stuff of Oscars, and she is certainly deserving here. (Of course, Deadwyler was also deserving in 2022’s “Till,” but was not even nominated.) Washington’s character is the showier of the two, but Deadwyler’s performance is the one which scores the knockout. “The Piano Lesson” succeeds, in large part, because of Deadwyler.
One of this year’s gems
The supporting cast is strong, and the adapted screenplay (by Malcolm Washington and screenwriter Virgil Williams) is the best of the recent Wilson adaptations. And even though Viola Davis won a well-deserved Oscar for “Fences,” my fear is that “The Piano Lesson” will fly under the proverbial radar when award season rolls around. This is one to keep in the forefront, however. It is truly one of this year’s gems.
Andy Ray‘s reviews also appear on https://townepost.com/