THE PIANO LESSON, adapted from August Wilson’s 1987 play, is a powerful reflection on family legacy and the ghosts that haunt generational trauma. Under the steady direction of Malcolm Washington, the energetic camera makes you feel like a fly on the wall of a deeply personal family story. But even more than that, the film is a showcase for some of the best acting of the year, featuring powerhouse performances from Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington. August Wilson’s family has placed Denzel Washington and his family as the stewards of the playwright’s 10-play collection, and this latest adaptation proves these stories are in the greatest of hands.
Set in 1930s Pittsburgh, the film follows the Charles family as they argue over what to do with an heirloom piano, ornately decorated by carvings from enslaved ancestors. The piano has been passed down for generations, and is worth enough for Boy Willie (John David Washington) to sell it and buy land to build his own property where his ancestors had once worked as slaves. But his sister Berniece (Deadwyler) is having none of it. She understands the legacy of this piano and its importance to their family and wants to continue to preserve it, much to the protestations of her brother. Lingering in the shadows of this back and forth is the ghost of Sutter, the deceased owner of the land; some believe Boy Willie may be responsible for his death… and his presence continues to haunt the Charles family.
Although the film is predominantly a cast of men, it is most affecting when it hones in on female strength and legacy. So much, so, I was disappointed in myself for not earlier seeing the importance of women in the story. That is, until Deadwyler, who I think deserves an Oscar nomination for her performance, delivers a blazing monologue about being a Black woman and the history and legacy her character’s female ancestors embodied… all in the shadows of the more public-facing men around them. This theme is why this film is a love letter to Washington’s mother, Pauletta, who the film is dedicated to, and the countless Black women who were critical to their family stories, even if their own remained in the background.
I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with writer/director Malcolm Washington and actors John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). I asked them about the theme of under-explored stories of women within family stories, as well as Malcom’s incredible camerawork and its impact on the filmmaking process. I could have spoken to the trio all day about the film, which I continue to think about to this day!
Malcolm, I love the film so much, and I feel like I could ask you a million questions about it. But the first thing I wanted to ask you is about the camera work. I loved how active the camera was in the film. How were you able to block and rehearse how that worked? And for Danielle and John David, did that make it difficult to shoot because the camera was so active?
Malcolm: I was super interested in telling the story visually. That was a big emphasis. But also working in a way which not only didn’t get in the way of what the actors were doing, but try to enhance and tell the subtext of what they’re doing, what they’re delivering in both the performances and their looks… the things that happen in between the lines. And I think that there’s a wonderful marriage of the camerawork, the editing, and acting of when we’re listening, when we’re sitting with somebody who’s receiving the news or the information and watching that shift on their face—because they delivered so many beautiful moments. And it was more for us of, okay, how do we underscore that? How do we highlight that? How do we put it in the right context to have the biggest impact, the best impact we can have on the story?
Danielle: I think about the skill of theater and how repetition… you digging into the thing every day is how the muscle is built. And so we just did that when it came to rehearsal. And then when it came to blocking, and then when it came to shooting, Malcolm was doing… I don’t watch playbacks and all that kind of stuff. That’s not my job. It’s for me to trust, and he’s doing all of these beautiful things. We’re just supposed to stay enriched in what the scene is. And so I know we did things a lot of times because he was making us so aware of the dynamics of the relationships with what was happening with the camera. And so I love the ability to constantly make different choices in each scene, in each take. And that muscle is the real rich relationship between theater and film.
John David: Yeah. I think between [Malcolm] and our director of photography, they welcomed variety in our movements, in our choices. And in that invitation, there’s so much free flowing rights that we have to try stuff and fall into whatever [will happen]. And it’s in that free flowing process, when you see the finished product, you realize how technically sound it was. And I think that’s a magic trick because it almost feels like, yeah, throw some paint on the wall, we’ll figure it out. You know? And yet, you see how, to your point, which you noticed… what I appreciate about what he did is how technically sound the filmmaking is. And knowing the process didn’t feel that way at all. It wasn’t, “Hit this mark, hit this, hit that.” It was, “Yeah, whatever you want.” Even if they were stretched thin and like “he won’t hit this mark.” [Everyone laughs]. But the magic is, and Leslie as well in the editing process, they make it seamless. They make it so sound. And the marriage of the musicality and the sort of jazz-like rhythm that we had is in great concert with the technical aspect that they delivered.
Malcolm: And I just want to add that the rehearsal… when I close my eyes and think back on making the film, the nostalgia I feel is for the rehearsal process. Every morning we would come together and rehearse for an hour. And everybody came ready to discover things in the story and in the scene that we’re doing. Even people like John David who had done versions of it so many times before. Everybody came that day, open for what each other was giving—what we were giving each other. And it was such an organic process and their movements were all dictated by their characters and their feelings and their intentions and their wants and their needs and their obstacles, all these things. So it became a really organic process.
It was masterful. Danielle, your monologue absolutely floored me. So much so, I was mad at myself for not considering Berniece’s mother more in the story before your monologue.
Malcolm: How good is that?
I consider myself a feminist. I love female characters. And so, again, I was mad at myself for not thinking about her before.
Danielle: The damn patriarchy. [Everyone laughs]
Right? Then you mic dropped!
Malcolm: I’ve seen… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that line be performed by her in in the last year and a half. I get a chill every time.
Chills all through my body. It made me emotional seeing that scene. On the page, did you know that was going be the climax of the film? Because for me, that was the climax of the film and is what I most walked away from the film thinking about.
Danielle: No, I’m strangely enough very much into what my character is doing, but aware of the world in its entirety. Malcolm is really forcing us to come to a balancing act of there is no right or wrong. These binaries are problematic and do not exist. It’s a bit more murky. I deeply, deeply, empathize with what Boy Willie is talking about and the need for land and connectivity and legacy and wanting upward movement. But Berniece wants it too and just is going about it in a different way. And so August is forcing us to consider what is not witnessed. Right? Like we see, you know, the father-son dynamic in the interiors of Boy Willie’s mind, but you don’t see the matriarch. But we always think about our mothers. I think we always think about our mothers, but do we really consider them?
And Malcolm, the fact you dedicated the film to your mother I thought was really wonderful.
Malcom: Yes, it felt the most fitting gesture.
THE PIANO LESSON is out in theaters now and will be dropping on Netflix starting November 22!
