Malcolm Washington and the cast of “The Piano Lesson” about family and the creation of historic black cinema – Essence

Filmmaker Malcolm Washington and the cast of the Netflix series – Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington – discuss the importance of family, healing together and letting go of generational fears.

August Wilson’s historic film adaptation of Washington, D.C. has turn into a family-friendly cinematic endeavor. A theatrical release on November 8 and on Netflix on November 22 signifies that filmmaking is outwardly an inherent gene in the Washington family’s DNA. Denzel Washington, two-time Oscar winner and Malcolm’s father, produced the film and starred his other son, John David. “My mom is a pianist,” says first-time director Malcolm Washington. “She couldn’t play the piano for a long time. She had a strange relationship with the piano and that became very powerful in the story.”

In 1990, Wilson’s play won the Pulitzer Prize for its dramatized narrative presenting a realistically complex portrait of family life for Black Americans in Mississippi and Pittsburgh from 1911 to 1936 during the Jim Crow era. The successful 2022 Broadway version of Wilson’s work starred Jackson as “Doaker” and John David as “Boy Willie.”

“He was so generous” – John David talks about working with Jackson, who played many of the roles of August Wilson. “He has 40 years of experience with this text alone.”

Jackson’s repertoire of characters in cinema tends to convey a palpable sense of armed masculinity and toughness. Doaker could be very much the latter, which adds depth to Jackson’s varied game. From taking over the role of “Boy Willie” at Yale Theater School in 1987 to playing the quiet “Doaker” on Broadway in 2022, Jackson’s return gave him an entire recent perspective on these harrowing characters. “When you adapt, you have to lose a lot of things because you’re going beyond the original material and expanding the scope of the script itself,” Jackson states. “People and places will come together, and Willie is the engine that drives this story, while Doaker is the unwavering spirit.”

Next to him, Jackson was the headstrong Deadwyler, who took on the role of consciously protective mother and daughter, Berniece. Her character makes it her life’s work to take care of the most precious family heirloom, the piano that stood of their front room day by day. This piano was stolen from the Charles family by their ancestors’ slave owners, the Sutters. The instrument is a manifested vessel of blood, cultural and generational heritage, and knowledge that has outlined a family’s lineage; despite living in times that attempted to erase their each day existence. “When we were shooting the movie, my mom came on set and I saw her play the piano for the first time in years,” Washington recalled. “I haven’t heard this since I was young, it touched everyone and got everyone emotional.”

Black music and spirituality have been intertwined for hundreds of years, and Wilson’s raw play shows how collective trauma and the refusal to face fear can hinder a family’s healing. John David’s fiery portrayal of Willie shows that the pursuit of opportunity doesn’t all the time equate to true manhood and a fruitful legacy. His siblings’ conflicts with Berniece cause tension to mount in the family home, causing unexpected, terrifying ghosts to linger and resurface. “I think about stories and how important they are in keeping us connected across generations,” Deadwyler says, sitting next to John David. “I have a set of earrings from my grandmother and it speaks to how possessions can contribute to folklore in creating a family.”

When it involves collaborating with esteemed Black performers who’ve had illustrious careers on stage and screen, Deadwyler goes back to pure basics. “It’s an education,” Deadwyler describes his craft. “Art is a spiritual endeavor. It’s a political and personal endeavor, and doing it with serious people makes it all seem real. Filmmaking is meant to change who you are, and in turn, possibly change others, as well as create a rich conversation within the larger community.”

Growing up in Los Angeles, Malcolm Washington credits movies like these with giving him the artistic dimension to tackle his first film project. His directorial debut is all about sparking conversations and letting emotions run high. uses dialogue as a dynamic tool while moving the audience without clear directives or resolutions for the Charles family. It focuses on character relationships that leave audiences reeling – “the material found me when I needed it most, and I’m grateful it did,” Malcolm explains to me.

“Malcolm has a very clear vision,” says John David of witnessing his brother’s first directorial appearance. “He has always been a director I am a fan of. He was an artist I admire and someone I was ready to spread my wings with… and he took off.”

When adapting from stage to film, the creative collaboration of Malcolm and his family knew they’d to succinctly tackle confronting scenes related to grief, acceptance of loss and familial uncertainty. “My approach to the house, where most of the film was shot, was to chase dynamism,” Malcolm details his directing techniques. “I really wanted a camera that was moving, wandering and dynamic, speaking to the subtext of the scenes, able to communicate what was between the lines and sometimes working in opposition to the lines, something that would represent the subjective experience of the film and reach inside the characters.”

Although the dialogue Wilson had originally created was of great value to the filmmaking, Malcolm focused on allowing his multi-talented cast to take a relaxed approach to bring the organic performances to life. “I wanted the cast to find a rhythm that felt good for us as a whole, so we would break through the kind of stiffness that can sometimes come with a sacred work when we are so afraid.”

In this case, viewers can follow the events in the Charles family home as tensions rise when Berniece touches the piano keys. She and the piano are a tethered source and conduit for a lot of of her family’s invisible guardian angels – their ancestors. Earth, wind, fire and water are seasonal because despite the fact that family and community dynamics may change, nature will all the time remain, but the most significant thing is when everyone comes together.

When Willie’s dad shows him the land and notes that it’s the land that may take more,” Washington continues. “His father puts his hand on his back and I remember my dad doing the same thing and putting his giant hand on my little back.” This idyllic, easy scene is the quintessence of the essential story that Malcom creates, which goals to firmly root and ground Black people in the family despite confusion and troubles. The full gathering of the Charles family in the final minutes is conflict, climax and resolution – together they only archive their presence through memory. “I will never take for granted the love that goes into a project. Sacrifice required from everyone, from top to bottom,” Washington says.