The Piano Lesson
It takes hubris to say you’re going to be the one to produce some of the most significant works in literary history, as Denzel Washington did when he chose to tackle August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle” of plays, which includes this, “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” It takes a degree of humility to hand some of that responsibility off to other people; while Denzel directed and starred in “Fences,” he only produced “Ma Rainey’s” (which starred Chadwick Boseman, and was directed by George C. Wolfe) and “Piano Lesson.” For the latter, he handed the reigns to his son, Malcolm Washington, and it might be the most potent of the three, a film that is largely talk, but entirely cinematic in how it handles its subject. That’s the only way it could work, and Malcolm shows that he inherited a lot of his father’s talent.
We begin on the 4th of July in 1911, and as a celebration goes on in the distance, a couple of men steal a piano from a house. While one of them gets away, another one is left behind, and is killed by the owner of the piano. The one left behind had a son, who was tasked with watching out for people coming. The son is Boy Willie (John David Washington) whom, along with his friend Lymon (Ray Fisher), are currently in Pittsburgh selling a truck load of watermelons they have 25 years later. They are also here to see Boy Willie’s sister, Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), who has the piano in the house she shares with her husband, Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson). Boy Willie wants to sell the piano so he can get himself some land, but Berniece is not interested. The impasse between the two will be the drama with which the film finds its energy.
At the heart of this film is a fundamental question of family stories being passed down, and whether the importance in a family heirloom as something passed down trumps its value as property. There is more to the theft of the piano than we initially know, and its history- as revealed later in the film- makes Berniece’s case for keeping it a stronger one. At the same time, while he may not be going about it in the best manner, one can also see why Boy Willie wants to do what he wants to do; for him, the land could be a more valuable thing to pass down to family, something that could also pay dividends in the future beyond a piano that may have emotional value, as something his father took from people that enslaved members of his family, and has those memories etched into it, literally so, by one of the family’s ancestors themselves. The piano is a character with a history in the film, as well, and it will make itself heard by the end of the film.
The screenplay by Malcolm Washington and Virgil Williams allows for the dialogue to be the driving force of the film, but also brings some striking visual acuity to the film. The opening theft of the piano, largely in darkness, and then the light of torches when Willie is being pursued. The way the period is evoked in the production design by David J. Bomba goes along well with the visual depth in Mike Gioulakis’s cinematography. And the score by Alexandre Desplat is evocative in a way I haven’t heard from the composer in years- it is thrilling, haunting and lively while capturing all of the tensions in the film beautifully. But the actors are what gets to the heart of the film strongest. The performances by John David Washington and Deadwyler (both fantastic) find these siblings largely at odds, not just in how they view the piano but how they view their future, tying into the themes of the film nicely. It was nice to see Ray Fisher in a role not associated with Zack Snyder for a change, and he brings an energy to Lymon that’s a nice counterbalance to JDW as Boy Willie. Samuel L. Jackson is Samuel L. Jackson, at this point, but seeing how he doesn’t take any shit from Boy Willie, and stands toe to toe with Berniece, makes him an invaluable cast member. Another key character is Avery (Corey Hawkins), an old family friend who knows more intimately Berniece’s reticence to sell the piano, and hopes to see her no longer haunted by it. “The Piano Lesson” is a film not only about the characters learning something, but we do as well. That is always a valuable cinematic experience to have.
