FILM
THE PIANO LESSON
THE WASHINGTON FAMILY TINKLE THE IVORIES
Ghost in the machine: The Charles family face a dilemma.
Erykah Badu takes centre stage.
★★★
OUT 8 NOVEMBER / CERT 12A / 127 MINS
DIRECTOR
Malcolm Washington
CAST
Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Erykah Badu, Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkins
PLOT
An elaborately carved piano becomes a symbol of grief, legacy and honour for one warring family in 1930s Pittsburgh.
PLAY-TO -FILM adaptations can often flourish thanks to the little tricks and turns that only the silver screen can provide: whether it’s Jack Nicholson’s claustrophobic close-up as he exclaims guilt in A Few Good Men, or the frantic editing of Amadeus. On the other hand, some adaptations do too little and end up feeling literally ‘stagey’ as a result. With The Piano Lesson in particular, it feels like not much has been gained by re-rendering this Pulitzerwinner on celluloid.