The latest adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” premiered Friday on Netflix. “The Piano Lesson” is set in 1939 and centers Boy Willie (John David Washington), who travels from Mississippi to Pittsburgh with his friend Lymon (Ray Fisher) to sell watermelons and convince his sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) to sell their family heirloom,

August Wilson’s 1987 play is opened up in ways that that work—and some that don’t—in this beautifully acted film adaptation.

MY SAY This is a story told largely inside the Charles home, engaging with the ghosts of the past and the pain of repressed memories as exemplified by the piano. It is heavy with metaphor and symbolism, exploring the ways in which the objects passed down through generations carry with them the burdens of history.

Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson, an adaptation of August Wilson’s revered 1987 play, dives into the complexities of heritage, memory, and identity. Wi