In recent years, the work of playwrights has been august wilson It has been the source of some really great movies. 2016 fence This was the third film directed by denzel washingtonwas nominated for and won Best Picture. viola davis She won the long-awaited Best Supporting Actress Award. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom From 2020, he won two Oscars, chadwick bosemanThe final performance of was nominated posthumously. The project turns into a family affair as Denzel’s son in the latest in a series of Wilson adaptations produced in Washington. Malcolm Washington” makes his feature debut. piano lessonsMalcolm’s brother also appears in the film. john david washington. meanwhile piano lessons It may be the smaller of these three Wilson adaptations. Nevertheless, it powerfully expresses the author’s work in a fascinating story.
What is a “piano lesson”?
piano lessons A young boy, Willie Charles (John David Washington), finds out that he is coming with his friend Lymon (ray fisher) to visit Willie’s sister Bernice (daniel deadwyler) and his uncle Dorker (Samuel L. Jackson) Philadelphia, 1936. Willy and Lymon arrive with a truck full of watermelons that they plan to sell. Sharecropper Willie wants to buy the Sutter land where his ancestors worked as slaves. Boy Willy already has part of the money he needs, but he can get the remaining part by selling watermelons. But he hopes to get a third of the money he needs by selling an heirloom, the family piano owned by Bernice and decorated with carvings of her enslaved ancestors.
For young Willy, The piano represents a way out of family conflicts. By reclaiming the land that his ancestors worked so hard for, he is finally able to own it and move past this heartbreaking past. For Bernice, it is a reminder of the family legacy that she refuses to get rid of, despite Boy Willie’s constant bickering and complaining. When the boy Willie tried to sell this piano and get some land, it soon became clear that: the ghosts of the past still lingerready to remind this family of its piano heritage.
Malcolm Washington effectively takes ‘Piano Lessons’ off stage
In his first novel, Malcolm Washington did a great job adapting this stage play to the screen.beautifully extends this story in this new medium. piano lessons Most of it takes place in Doaker and Berniece’s house, but Washington finds a way to make this story feel less claustrophobic. We see young Willy in the fields he so dearly desires to own, and Willy and Lymon relaxing in a nightclub, and the film frequently uses ghosts to haunt these characters. , has an eerie effect that probably can’t be replicated like this. effectively on stage. meanwhile Ma Rainey It was mostly stuck in one place, Malcolm Washington seems to be taking cues from Denzel’s adaptation fencefind simple ways to embody this world beyond what can be expressed on stage. It’s not a huge evolution of the story, but the way it handles the original story makes it feel more epic.
Having said that, piano lessons It’s still thin and feels like it’s made more for the stage. than any other previous adaptation. Co-authored with Washington virgil williams (Co-author mud bound He is also the screenwriter for Denzel’s fourth directorial film. jordan’s diary), the story still has an unwavering sense of stagnation. The continued focus on Boy Willie and Berniece’s fight over the piano carries with it the limitations of a story created with one location and one focus. Still, Williams and Washington’s screenplay manages to turn it into a feature rather than a bug, especially in the final third. Tiny houses can be claustrophobic and scary in and of themselves. Having all of these characters in close proximity and being threatened allows us to capture nightmarish scenarios in a way that only movies can.
Daniel Deadwyler and the rest of the cast elevate Wilson’s play
many piano lessons‘s cast comes from the Tony Award-winning 2022 Broadway production. meanwhile John David Washington is very good here, and his performance also feels like it would be better suited on stage.He often takes on a proud and bossy tone, especially whenever he sheds tears over trying to sell the piano. However, Jackson, Fisher, michael pottsWin Boy Charles, who plays Win Boy Charles, was able to effectively orchestrate his on-screen performance. Especially in the third act, Fisher finally highlights his quiet character by openly speaking about his wants and desires.
But the real surprise is Deadwyler piano lessonsand is the only major actor in the film who did not play the role on stage. Deadwyler knows how to use her intensity that comes from love to command a scene, as we saw many times in her highly underrated performance in 2022. to. While Washington’s Boy Willie tries to project superiority in the room and often fails in his attempts to project his power, Berniece the Deadwyer uses only the tone of her voice and the cutting gaze of a knife. This kind of power can be required. Again, in the third act, piano lessons When it starts to go into darker territory, Deadwyler knows how to beautifully transform this shift into a more horror-leaning story. With performances like this, Deadwyler continues to show us that she is a strong acting presence who deserves more attention with each new role.
In Wilson’s recent film adaptations, piano lessons This movie is the one that has the most trouble finding direction off-stage. Still, Malcolm Washington shows himself to be a capable director, expanding on this story as much as possible while staying true to the source material. This cast also knows how to beautifully enhance Wilson’s words, whether it’s approaching a stage-like performance like Deadwyler or breathing new life into this story. piano lessons Although “” has had its share of problems in the adaptation process, Washington’s film remains a strong addition to Wilson’s increasingly impressive line-up of adaptations.
piano lessons Now available on Netflix in the US
Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson may be the weakest of August Wilson’s adaptations to date, but it’s still a charming family drama with great performances.
- Malcolm Washington does a masterful job of bringing this story from stage to screen.
- A great cast including Daniel Deadwyler and John David Washington elevate this story.
- The final third leans into horror in a wonderfully beautiful way.
- Although piano lessons have improved, I can’t help but feel that they are still too gradual.
Watch on Netflix
