Ever since Denzel Washington became the caretaker of August Wilson’s Century Cycle, a collection of ten plays set in different decades about the Black experience primarily in Pittsburgh, cinema has waited for each new instalment. The first, Fences, saw Washington star, direct and produce, earning himself Oscar nomination in the process, and winning one for Viola Davis. Then followed George C. Wolfe’s take on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, this time earning Davis a nomination and a posthumous one for the late Chadwick Boseman.
Now Washington’s son Malcolm takes the reins of The Piano Lesson, taking most of the cast from the most recent Broadway revival. The cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkis, Michael Potts and Ray Fisher. The story follows a brother (John David Washington) and sister (Deadwyler) who argue over what to do with a piano their father stole, and lost his life over, that contains carvings of their ancestors, at their uncle’s (Jackson) house.
From the beginning, of the three films made of Wilson’s plays so far, this is the most cinematic. Washington is clearly concerned with making a film, and attempts, as much as he can, to get away from people in rooms. Even in the lengthy, often stagey speeches, he concerns himself with showing not just telling. When Jackson’s enthralling voice recounts the history of the piano, it’s allowed to play out over images of the story. Mike Gioulakis’s cinematography and a suitably genre-specific score by Alexandre Desplat help to lift this from the stage and onto the screen.
For the most part the director always has a good way of modulating his actors. Wilson’s play build to emotional crescendos, and this one has a doozy of a climax, but he mainly keeps the acting small, and personal. Jackson, a screen legend, hasn’t been this good since The Hateful Eight, and perhaps better than that. He commands the screen with ease, and has an easy chemistry with Michael Potts as his brother the smooth Wining Boy. Both take to their roles naturally.
Deadwyler is as compelling as she was in Till, showing she is a fantastic performer capable of playing hurt or emotional people without ever pushing too far. Ray Fisher, whose experiences on the set of Justice League saw him speak out, plays the role of a person with learning difficulties very sensitively. He never overdoes it either way.
The weak point is John David Washington. A fine performer, easily able to carry films, but here he plays the role of Boy Willie as if he’s still on stage. Whilst the surrounding cast have toned down their acting for the screen, Washington is as showy as he was in the risible Malcolm and Marie. Despite playing a character who’s arrogant and unlikeable at times, the Tenet star feels out of place in an over-the-top performance.
Even so the film casts its spell, remaining engrossing from its showy opening to its emotionally charged ending. Now the benchmark for an August Wilson adaptation, those filmmakers looking to adapt any of the remaining Century Cycle plays have a new bar to clear.
The Piano Lesson is screening at London Film Festival