The Piano Lesson. 2024. USA. Directed by Malcolm Washington. With Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler. DCP. 125 min.
The intensity of familial bonds are on full display—both in front of and behind the camera—in Malcom Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s searing play. Produced by his father Denzel, and starring his brother John David with the critical participation of his sister Olivia and mother Pauletta, Washington’s film uses the strength of his family tree to anchor a multigenerational story of memory, trauma, and progress. Featuring standout performances from Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Samuel L. Jackson, this tale of the battle over a prized heirloom piano and the ghosts it unleashes joins Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom among the compelling August Wilson visions brought to cinematic light by the Washingtons. Courtesy of Netflix.