At least when it comes to theater, playwright August Wilson was THE quintessential chronicler of the African-American experience in the 20th century. Especially with his so-called “The Pittsburgh Circle”, the US playwright worked on the coexistence and everyday life of the African-American community in a total of ten plays, each set in one of the ten decades of the 20th century. The best-known among them is the piece “The Piano Lesson“, in which he combines a family story with experiences of slavery and supernatural elements – and for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for best drama in 1990. Two decades (and a television adaptation that was never broadcast in Germany) later, the play was rediscovered.
It was most recently played on Broadway in a Tony Award-winning production in 2022. The ensemble at the time included Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher and Michael Potts. The quartet now took on their roles again in the film adaptation. After Oscar winner Denzel Washington directed his own sensitive film adaptation of a Wilson play from the “Pittsburgh Circle” with “Fences” (2017), the “Gladiator II” star helped his own as a co-producer on “The Piano Lesson”. youngest son Malcolm Washington on his directorial debut – and his eldest son John David Washington (“Tenet”) on another leading role. In the end, however, it is the family clan's playful cast that saves the otherwise rather sedately staged Netflix drama over time.
Boy Willie (John David Washington) has a firm plan – he wants to use the money from selling the piano to finance his professional future.
1936: Together with his good friend Lymon (Ray Fisher), Boy Willie (John David Washington) travels from the US state of Mississippi to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here he wants to sell harvested watermelons and visit his family. His sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), her daughter Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith) and his uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) live together under one roof. With the proceeds from the sale of the watermelons and an old piano that is in Bernieces' home, Boy Willie wants to buy his own farmland to cultivate. But neither his uncle nor his sister want to give up the family heirloom, even if it is for a good cause…
The extent to which the musical instrument, which features artistic wood carvings, is connected to one's own tragic family history surrounding slavery and racism is already hinted at in short snippets in the first five minutes of the film. But only after three quarters of an hour does it become a comprehensive flashback really told. Until then, “The Piano Lesson” initially remains dramaturgically stationary, as Boy Willie repeatedly tells new characters about his plans, Berniece's resistance and a dark legend surrounding the mysterious fall of the well by the obese farmer Sutter. The drama gets pretty slow in the first third, which Malcolm Washington plays a crucial role in with his stiff, stage-like production.
A symbolic burden
Apart from a handful of exterior shots, “The Piano Lesson” takes place largely in Berniece's living room, which, however, offers no real show value over the long term. The rather dull shots in combination with the repetitive dialogues create more of an outdated theater feeling than great cinema. Only rarely are flashbacks interwoven with much more powerful images to loosen up the leaden scenery, most of which ended up directly in the trailer – which promises much more dynamism.
The conversations and thus the plot only really gain momentum after the family backstory becomes known. The relationship becomes increasingly complex and Berniece receives unexpected advances from two people involved. The heavy piano becomes a metaphor for a burden that rests on everyone's shoulders black community burdens. Even if Doaker's good friend Wining Boy (Michael Potts) once failed at this, the question arises: Can the black minority gain a foothold in more prestigious jobs outside of a career as a musician and free themselves from the mental shackles of the degrading experience of oppression? Does she want to keep a low profile or boldly defy the whites?
Uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) doesn't want to give up the piano under any circumstances; it simply means too much to him and his family's history.
With so many socio-political issues carved both symbolically and actually into the wood of the piano, it is no wonder that the demons are ultimately driven out of the dusty strings in a veritable exorcism. This is also a rare (at first seemingly strange, but coherent) scene in which debutant director Washington actually uses explicitly cinematic (if somewhat worn) stylistic devices with creaking floorboards, flickering lights, a parallel montage and quick cuts.
The strenuous piano lesson is carried out by an enthusiastic ensemble. Danielle Deadwyler (“Till – Fight for the Truth”) reveals behind her rough exterior as a strict, bitter mother a fragile insecurity when dealing with the family history that once drove her into the Christian faith. Ray Fisher (“Rebel Moon”) plays the dumb Lymon in a wonderfully naive way – especially when he falls for Wining Boy's clumsy sales tricks. And Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”) is once again beyond reproach as a fatherly explainer – even if his tacked-on mustache seems a bit strange.
Conclusion: Even if the trailer, which uses very selected scenes, promises something different, the film adaptation of a masterful play is largely wooden in terms of style. Debut director Malcolm Washington can rely on his enthusiastic ensemble, but otherwise he should have copied more from his famous father. With his own Wilson film adaptation “Fences,” Denzel Washington finally got a lot more out of a very similar play.