“Electric,” “beautifully portrayed,” and “coolly furious” – are a few of the descriptions critics have written about Atlanta actor and film star Danielle Deadwyler in “The Piano Lesson.”
The film adapts a Pulitzer-prizewinning play by August Wilson for the screen. It’s produced by Denzel Washington, written and directed by his son Malcolm, and stars his son John David.
Deadwyler plays Berniece, the keeper of a storied piano, a symbol of a painful family history and host, perhaps, to a few ghosts. Reviewers are calling for Academy honors for Deadwyler who recently joined Lois Reitzes on “City Lights,” to share more about the film.
The Atlanta-born actor and multidisciplinary artist described Wilson’s works as “a love letter to Black America,” celebrating the complexity of Black family dynamics, spirituality and history. The film centers on a storied piano carved with the history of the Charles family, a symbol of trauma and triumph.
“It’s a piece of ancestry, a reminder of what’s been endured and what choices lie ahead,” Deadwyler explained. Drawing inspiration from Zora Neale Hurston and her own Atlanta roots, she crafted Berniece as a woman navigating the intersections of heritage, gender and independence.
