Pittsburgh, 1936; Boy Willie Charles (John David Washington) returns to his family’s household where he intends to confront his sister over a piano with a tortured history.

An adaptation of the lauded August Wilson play that becomes quite the Washington family affair, with Malcolm in his directing debut and his brother in a forceful performance as a young man looking to take control of his family’s history as slaves, symbolized by the piano; several cast members were in a 2022 production of the play.

Staged almost like a horror movie at times; goes a little over-the-top in the end, but still solid.

2024-U.S. 125 min. Color. Directed by Malcolm Washington. Screenplay: Virgil Williams, Malcolm Washington. Play: August Wilson. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), John David Washington (Boy Willie Charles), Danielle Deadwyler (Berniece Charles), Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Denzel Washington. The play was previously filmed as a 1995 TV movie.