The Piano Lesson

12/3/2024

When a gifted playwright’s work is adapted for the big screen, the transition from one medium to another can be quite challenging to pull off successfully. And, if the adaptation gets it wrong, it fails to do justice to the source material, an outcome that often unfairly reinforces the blanket denigration often accorded to film as an “inferior” artform compared to others (like literature or the stage). Such is the case, unfortunately, with this latest adaptation of work drawn from the writings of August Wilson, a stage-to-screen cross-over comes up short compared to previous conversions of his material (like “Fences” (2016), which succeeded brilliantly). This tale of two siblings (John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler) who match wits over the fate of a family heirloom – a piano with a

1/2/2025

<em>'The Piano Lesson'</em>, despite peaks and troughs, is largely a good watch. I could feel my interest increase and decrease fairly consistently throughout though, so no doubting more could've been done to keep me more interested - but that I still was, in fairness. John David Washington and Samuel L. Jackson are two that perform well, but the person that I would rank as the standout is Danielle Deadwyler - great performance! I didn't actually know her 24 hours ago, though I do now after this and <em>'Carry-On'</em>. Michael Potts merits props, too. It does feature a noteworthy enough story, the music is decent and there are some solid moments in there - the rendition of "Berta, Berta" with Jackson & Co. particularly stands out in my memory. I now see that this is based on a play,

1/17/2025

This is based on August Wilson's play and you'll never be in any doubt it came from the stage. The style of presentation and the construction of the story is entirely theatrical and that didn't really work so well for me on a big screen. It's all about a piano. "Boy Wille" (John David Washington) thinks that by selling it, they could improve their lot. Sister "Berniece" (Danielle Deadwyler) thinks over her dead body. That sentiment might actually prove closer to the truth than anyone wants, though, as the story develops and it becomes clear that this beautifully carved piano has no intentions of moving anywhere - and that it comes with quite an haunting provenance. Both characters see this instrument as an integral part of their past - a past peppered with brutality, slavery and hard labou