The Piano Lesson brings another August Wilson play to the big screen without changing much despite swapping mediums. It's a family drama about generational trauma with a sprinkling of gothic horror and as it doesn't endeavour to truly adapt its source material, this feels like a filmed rendition of play opposed to a truly cinematic adaptation. Thanks to a strong cast and a few flashes of visual flair, it always remains an engaging and rewarding experience.
Since this puts all the performances front and centre, the terrific cast all get time to shine. Danielle Deadwyler is the best performer with the whole film building to her confronting her family's history. John David Washington and Ray Fisher give the complete opposite types of performances to what you'd expect based on their previous experience. Washington is the one who goes too theatrical in places whereas Fisher is a lot more nuanced which is better suited for this medium.
Macolm Washington makes a really good debut as co-writer and director even if it could've been more cinematic overall. There's a lot of dialogue heavy scenes that go on for a while and they're sustained solely by how good the whole cast is. It's few and far between but there is undoubtedly some impressive visual flair here in the few moments of horror and especially the opening scene lit by fireworks which remains the standout 2 hours later.
