The Piano Lesson (2024) Review

The Piano Lesson (2024)
Director: Michael Washington
Screenwriters: Virgil Williams, Michael Washington
Starring: John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Skylar Aleece Smith, Michael Potts

It is difficult to ignore how many Washingtons are involved in Netflix Original film The Piano Lesson (2024), and it’s fitting that a film about family legacy is written, directed by, acted in, and even dedicated to several members of the same family. This is the second film adapted from an August Wilson stage play that Denzel Washington has been involved in, and given Wilson’s standing in American theatre and Washington’s standing in Hollywood, it seems like it should be a match made in Heaven.

The Piano Lesson is an exploration of grief and generational trauma within a black family in 1930s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Boy Willie Charles (John David Washington, Tenet) and Berniece Charles (Danielle Deadwyler, Till) are siblings who can’t decide what to do with an important family heirloom – a beautiful carved piano. The piano is particularly interesting as it seems to be linked with the souls of past members of the family, and past white slave owners. It’s an incredibly important story to tell, but it isn’t without fault.

The opening scene, set twenty five years earlier in 1911, offers so much promise. Older members of the Charles family creep through the darkness and steal back a piano that they feel is rightfully theirs. They are risking a lot, as the man they are taking from is a Sutter, the heir of the very man who once owned their family. The scene is illuminated by fireworks, which is visually interesting. It plunges the men into intermittent darkness, ramping up the tension too. The blue and red lights are like a slowed down flash of a police car approaching – the tension is high and the themes are laid out clearly (most impressively with barely any noise). While there are sparks of brilliance and excellent acting throughout The Piano Lesson, nothing in the film lives up to the initial promise of this opening sequence.

Like a play, the central cast is small and the monologues are long. The project appears to be nothing more than an exercise in proving how well everyone involved can act, how earnest each character can be. This desire is understandable due to the significant subject matter, but it does come at the expense of pacing. Scenes are too long, too slow, and too repetitive.

One of the standout names on the cast list is Samuel L. Jackson. Unfortunately, Jackson is wasted in his role as Uncle Doaker, a slightly gormless and completely passive man. Lymon (Ray Fisher) and Whining Boy (Michael Potts) are, in contrast, interesting characters, but they are completely unnecessary to the plot. They add nothing, which is proven by how neither is anywhere to be seen in the conclusion despite how both had a prominent role until that point. Lymon and Whining Boy could have been used to further show the ripples of trauma this family have had to endure, but that simply does not happen.

Another obstacle between this film and an overall sense of enjoyment is how excruciatingly irritating and selfish Boy Willie is. Neither he nor Berniece acts in a way to benefit any other character in the film. In a drama about family healing, these individualistic focuses seem like a misstep.

There are too many similar conversations, repeated lines and arguments about the piano, when instead that time could have been spent telling more stories of the family trauma, the Sutter family’s involvement, and the pervading desire to rectify past wrongs.

While this film is not a ghost story, the notion of ghosts is used as a metaphor, which is an interesting prospect, but the tension behind, and timing of, the ghostly apparitions doesn’t hit. They are spread out, no one seems scared enough, no one seems bothered enough… including us.

Because the story at the heart of The Piano Lesson is an important one, and an underrepresented one, there is merit to be found here, and it’s easy to see how this would be an incredible production to see on the stage. The film, however, is let down by its own promise of greatness. The trailer and the poster worked hard to raise expectations for this feature directorial debut, but if you start watching The Piano Lesson expecting jump scares or high drama you will be disappointed. If you start watching with the expectation of exceptional acting and simmering discordance then you might not be.

Score: 15/24