Review: “The Piano Lesson” is a mixed bag

If everyone had good intentions, this adaptation of The Piano Lesson would earn high marks. But desire does not do this. And this twisted adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, now in theaters ahead of its November 22 debut on Netflix, is a mixed bag.

It is the third film adapted from Wilson’s series of 10 plays, collectively titled The Pittsburgh Cycle, about the systemic and historical exploitation of black Americans throughout each decade of the 20th century.

The playwright died in 2005, but his work will live on, especially if Denzel Washington has something to say about it. After starring in 2016’s Fences and directing 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the Oscar-winning star is producing The Piano Lesson as a major motivator in what could be called Washington Family Mission Statement.

“Most of what’s left of my career,” said Washington, who turns 70 in December, “is taking care of August.”

This is a commendable commitment, given some of the built-in pitfalls. To date, no Wilson adaptation has been able to completely break free from its stage roots. Fences did it best, winning four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Wilson and Best Actor for Washington, while co-star Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress .

Starring Denzel Washington’s son John David Washington and directed by younger son Malcolm Washington from a script he co-wrote with Virgil Williams (Mudbound), The Piano Lesson is definitely a family affair. Denzel Washington’s daughter Katya Washington is a co-producer, and the film is dedicated to their mother Pauletta Washington, who did not raise any Nepo children. Talent is visible everywhere.

The director begins with something rarely seen on stage—a Fourth of July fireworks explosion, circa 1911. While the white Sutter family gathers on their Mississippi plantation to watch the show, three black men are in the house engaged in the labor-intensive process of stealing fireworks. piano.

Not just a piano. This one is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. A quick cut takes us to 1936 Pittsburgh, where the piano sits in the home of Docker Charles (the great Samuel L. Jackson), who shares it with his niece Bernice (Danielle Deadwyler) and her daughter Maretha (Skylar Smith).

What follows is a direct intrusion by Docker’s nephew, Boy Willie (John David Washington), on his shy friend Lymon (Ray Fisher, terrific), who is trying to sell the piano to buy part of the old Sutter house, as an act of reclamation.

Bernice does not have this, she considers the piano a legacy of horror that should never be forgotten. No spoilers, except that Deadwyler is great as she uses the camera to capture every nuance of Bernice’s feelings. While the male actors, with the exception of Fisher, rely on external pyrotechnics, the glowing Deadwyler gives Bernice a vibrant inner life. Oscar neglected her as a grieving mother in 2023’s Till. Please Academy: don’t make this mistake again.

It’s the attempt to free the film from its theatrical setting that unsettles it, putting Wilson’s poetic dialogue at odds with the director’s attempt to dramatize the situation with unnecessary action and flashbacks that dilute the impact of Jackson (who won a 2022 Tony nomination). Broadway revival) in favor of an all-too-literal manifestation of the slave owner’s ghost.

The horror element works much better as a subtext: the sudden gleam in Bernice’s eyes speaks volumes about Black’s trauma and loss. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments of fiery ambivalence in the film, such as when the men sing a work song with a verve that belies their slavery. But the tonal imbalance continues to throw the film off course.

Props to the Washington family for preserving the master’s work. But on screen, The Piano Lesson feels caught between conflicting impulses to honor Wilson’s enduring art and reimagine his words in cinematic terms. They aren’t there yet. But the Washingtons have no plans to give up their aspirations anytime soon. And that’s worth cheering for.