'The Piano Lesson' Review

The Piano Lesson had its International Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release it in theaters on November 08 before the film streams on November 22.

August Wilson was a playwright whose work has prominently entered the Hollywood spotlight in the last decade. With 2016’s Fences and 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Denzel Washington has been the most prominent advocate in this process by producing both movies and pulling double duty for the former as star and director. Now, he tackles producing Wilson’s 1987 play The Piano Lesson, which stars his eldest son, John David, and is directed by his youngest son, Malcolm. Playing into similar themes of the first two Wilson adaptations, it faces racial history in America head-on and doesn’t look back. This time, however, it’s in the form of a possessed piano and two siblings quarreling over what should be done about it. Suppose you’re reading this and worried that The Piano Lesson is a horror movie. In that case, it’s not as it’s a complex family drama that delves into a debate about what’s more important to a family: the past or the future.

In a similar amount of time that Wilson’s plays made their way to the big screen, John David Washington’s acting career took off. His breakout role in Spike Lee’s 2018 film BlacKkKlansman cemented him as an actor to be on the lookout for and to be more than just the son of Denzel. He gives his best performance since as he plays Boy Willie, a man traveling up to Pittsburgh to look for and sell his family’s piano from his sister, Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler). He’s ambitious and often can be a handful for everyone else in the movie. Deadwyler also gives a remarkable performance as Berniece and further proves what she’s capable of as an actress right off the heels of her critically acclaimed performance in 2022’s Till. In the same vein as Viola Davis’ performances in Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Deadwyler plays Berniece as a strong-headed woman who stands her ground when clashing with Boy Willie and every opposing force in her life. She and Washington play off each other amazingly, giving one of the best duos and roles of the year.

The supporting cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Skylar Aleece Smith, Corey Hawkins, and Michael Potts is excellent, but the movie mainly undermines them. Going into its premiere, numerous sources predicted Jackson to be a big awards season contender, but his character, Doaker, is only needed for the first half. If any supporting member leaves a notable impression on the film, it’s Fisher and his character Lymon. He’s Boy Willie’s friend and is initially all in on helping him with the piano. As the film progresses, he changes his heart and sees Berniece’s side of the situation. Through this arc, Fisher showcases that there are more layers to him as an actor than what we’ve seen from him in the DCEU and the Rebel Moon movies. 

This clash reflects broader themes of African American identity, memory, and the unresolved trauma of slavery. Malcolm Washington and Virgil Williams' script is an adaptation of Wilson’s. It’s profoundly poetic yet rooted in the vocabulary of everyday speech, bringing the characters to life with emotional weight and authenticity. The supernatural element—the haunting of the piano by spirits of the past—adds a layer of mystery and underscores how unresolved trauma continues to shape the present. Both Boy Willie and Berniece have opposing views of the piano, with the former seeing it as a massive cash grab while the latter sees it as a piece of family history. Their conversations with the rest of the characters about it exemplify why both parties have valid reasonings behind their motives. There are a couple of instances where these conversations seem a bit derivative, given the movie is a play adaptation, but it doesn’t make the film falter whatsoever.

One of the film’s most striking aspects is how Wilson uses the piano as a symbol and a living artifact. It represents both the weight of generational suffering and the potential for reclaiming agency over one's destiny. The question at the heart of the film—what to do with the piano—is a question about how to confront history: Do we hold onto it, let it go, or transform it into something that moves us forward? In the film’s climax, Berniece enlists the help of pastor friend Avery (Hawkins) to bless the house and piano. The film takes a horrific turn for this scene as it escalates into something you’d see in an exorcism movie. It’s done brilliantly as Washington and Deadwyler once again clash over the piano and come face-to-face with the trauma of the past. Berniece overcomes her fears and plays the piano to end the chaos, resulting in one of the movie's biggest highlights.  

Overall, The Piano Lesson is an emotionally resonant, richly layered work that touches on universal themes of family, memory, and self-determination. It invites audiences to reflect on how we reckon with our past to shape our future. It’s a gratifying film for anyone interested in the interplay of history, art, and identity, deserving a strong round of applause once the final chord hits.

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