This has been quite a year for the Washington family. Its patriarch Denzel Washington is currently chewing the scenery starring in Gladiator II. Meanwhile, a Netflix film he co-produced with his daughter Katia Washington, The Piano Lesson is released on the same weekend. Based on August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, it’s definitely a family project as it stars Denzel’s eldest son John David Washington, and is directed by JD’s younger brother, Malcolm Washington.

This is the second cinematic adaptation of Wilson’s play that I’ve seen since Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. I went into this blindly and I’m glad I did because I might have hesitated to see it on the big screen if I had known that this intense family drama is also a creepy ghost story.

The story revolves around the Charles family living in the Doaker Charles (Samuel L. Jackson) household and their treasured family piano. It’s made known right away that this family heirloom is something special, and not only because it features intricate wood carvings made by one of their enslaved ancestors. The movie opens with a festive 4th of July celebration in 1911 Mississippi. While folks, mostly white families, are watching the fireworks display, a few black men are furiously trying to move said piano from someone’s home onto a horse carriage.

Fast forward 25 years later, sharecropper Boy Willie (John David) and his buddy Lymon (Ray Fisher) are driving a truck full of watermelons to his uncle Soaker’s house. As Willie recalls his childhood, all he ever wanted in life was to own a piece of land. Not just any land, he wants to buy James Sutter’s land where Willie’s ancestors worked as slaves. He knows that the treasured piano is worth a lot of money, which would be the key to finally securing that dream. Alas, as Uncle Doaker keeps telling him, his sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) would never agree to sell the piano for anything. This clash is the main source of tension between them, revealing the piano’s eerie past and the lingering spirit of Sutter in their home.

As one would expect in cinematic works based on plays, this is a dialog-heavy film with intense back-and-forth between the characters. I have to admit that I wish I could turn on the caption while watching this film, as it was a bit difficult to understand the heavy Southern drawl. Because of that, it took me a while to grasp what was going on and some moments felt a little drawn out, but the flashback scenes highlight just how significant and extremely complex the piano’s history is to the family.

For the most part, though, I find the movie engaging thanks to the fantastic performances. This is perhaps one of my favorite performances I’ve seen from John David, so electric and fiery, he clearly embraces his role of Boy Willie with aplomb. I hardly recognize Fisher as the meek, soft-spoken Lymon, and I enjoy seeing a subdued performance out of Samuel L. Jackson.

The scene stealer is without a doubt Deadwyler, with her commanding presence and intensity. The story definitely has a feminist vibe, with Berniece pushing back against the male-dominated narrative to take control of her own life. This is particularly clear when it comes to Avery (Corey Hawkins), the ambitious preacher who wants to marry her after her husband’s death. The fiery speech she gave in the third act, as well as that final house-shaking moment (literally) takes my breath away. I really hope her name shows up in the Oscar nominations this year.

This complex story is quite a daunting subject matter to tackle for a first-time director, but I think Malcolm Washington did a commendable job adapting it. While the tone is appropriately somber and unsettling, some unexpected humorous touches help lighten the mood a bit. He co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams, while working with a cast who are very familiar with the subject matter, as both Sam Jackson and John David reprise their roles from the revival play on Broadway in 2023. 

It’s superb on a technical level. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis enhances the eerie vibe with a strong atmospheric touch, playing around with shadows and light for maximum impact. The sound department also played a big role in making the ghostly scenes even more spine-chilling. The score by Alexandre Desplat is both gorgeous and harrowing, and the piano music is pretty much what you’d expect. But the French composer surprises us by using the piano in some unconventional ways, throwing in discordant chords and jazzy themes. I enjoy the few rousing musical pieces with a theatrical flair, especially the one where the characters stomp their foot like drums.

There are plenty of life lessons I glean from Wilson’s timeless work, the themes of generational trauma and family legacy are something people of all backgrounds can connect with. The ghosts take on different meanings here, they’re not just supernatural beings but the lasting impacts of trauma and injustice that would keep haunting us if we don’t confront them. It’s delivered in such a powerful way that leaves me quite shaken well beyond that chilling finale.

The Piano Lesson is currently streaming on Netflix

What are your thoughts on The Piano Lesson film adaptation?