The Piano Lesson Parent Guide

Boy Willie (John David Washington) has made the long and (for a black man in 1936) dangerous journey from Mississippi to Pittsburgh, and he has big plans for his life. A loathsome white farmer back home, James Sutter (Jay Peterson), has fallen into his own well and died, leaving his land for sale. Boy Willie, tired of the limited opportunities available to him, sees the land as his shot at freedom. To get enough money together to buy it, he’ll need to convince his sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) to sell a family heirloom: A large engraved piano, carved by their enslaved grandfather for Sutter’s ancestors. Berniece has no intention of selling the piano, and no intention of playing it, either. Boy Willie has no intention of leaving her home in Pittsburgh without it. As the two butt heads over the piano, it becomes clear that their different visions of the instrument might be irreconcilable. More worryingly, it looks like the piano might be haunted.

Adapted from the August Wilson play of the same name and part of his Pittsburgh Cycle, the film focuses on the way race and history shape the lives of its characters. Other films have been adapted from the cycle - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Fences - and while they aren’t sequels in the sense of the continuity of a single story, Wilson’s sharp writing shines clearly in all three. All provide insightful perspectives, not just on politics or race, but on human nature and the turbulence inherent in family.

Content concerns are limited, but not absent. There is little profanity, but at least 15 uses of a racial slur, and characters are seen drinking and smoking nearly constantly. There are also a few suggestive moments and conversations, although no nudity or sexual actvity is seen. This isn’t a film for young viewers, but teens shouldn’t have too many issues.

The Piano Lesson confronts difficult questions about how to come to terms with an imperfect past, and the story handles them capably. Characters are vibrant and well performed, bringing Wilson’s story to life. The movie never quite shakes off its own legacy from the stage, but I don’t think it needs to - it forces its audience into considering the story from multiple perspectives, providing few answers, but many suggestions. It’s well worth watching, and for those of you who don’t want to rush out to a theater right away, it’ll be on Netflix on November 22^nd of this year. Give it a look.