WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Piano Lesson.
The end of Netflix’s new historical drama The piano lesson features musical and supernatural elements centered on Sutter’s vengeful ghost. Directed by Malcolm Washington, The piano lesson is a film adaptation of the play of the same name written by August Wilsonwho also wrote the original play that inspired the Oscar-winning film Fences. The piano lesson The cast is led by John David Washington (Principle, The Creator),Samuel L. Jackson (pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight), Danielle Deadwyler (The more they fall, Eleven Station) and Ray Fisher (True Detective, Justice League).
Although the film and play are deeply rooted in American history, The piano lesson It is not based on a true story or true people. The piano lesson It received strong reviews, earning an impressive Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 90%. The piano lesson marks the feature film directorial debut of Malcolm Washington, the youngest son of Denzel Washington who directs his older brother, John David Washington, in the film. At the end of The piano lesson, Washington’s Boy Willie and Deadwyler’s Berniece are forced to face the ghosts of their family’s past in the form of a slave owner named Sutter.
Boy Willie’s Decision Not to Sell Piano Explained
At the end of The piano lessonBoy Willie gives up his ambition to sell the piano that his father Boy Charles had stolen from the Sutter plantation to buy land in Mississippi. In the end, Boy Willie realizes that the piano is a significant and protective heirloom that cannot be sold because not only does it have sentimental value, but it also represents his and his sister Berniece’s ancestors. Jackson’s Doaker is more or less the film’s peacemaker, who aims to keep Bernieve and Boy Willie from fighting each other over the piano. After the demonic confrontation with Sutter’s ghost, both Berniece and Boy Willie understand that the piano is extremely valuable and should be honored for your family.
Why Boy Willie Tells Berniece and Maretha to Keep Playing the Piano
After Boy Willie chases away Sutter’s violent ghost, he understands that Berniece and Maretha must continue to represent the family heirloom. Playing that particular piano has far more meaning and resonance than playing any antique piano, given the significant backstory and sacrifice required to acquire that piano in the first place. Boy Charles, father of Boy Willie and Berniece, was killed after being discovered by Sutter’s family and associates for stealing the piano. Berniece is reluctant to play it because of the pain and discord Boy Charlie caused the family over that piano. In the end, she sees it as a way to connect directly with the strength and life force of your ancestors.
Is Boy Willie a ghost?
Boy Willie says a line at the end of The piano lesson this suggests he may also be a ghost along with Sutter. Boy Willie warns Berniece that if she and Maretha don’t keep playing the piano, he and Sutter might “get back together”. Since Sutter is dead and has returned as a ghost, there is a sort of “Sixth Sense” moment where the audience may wonder if Boy Willie has been dead the whole time and was also killed in the lumber supply incident with Sutter’s husband. Berniece, Crawley. Despite this intriguing theory, Boy Willie is not a ghost. He is alive and real in both the play and the film. The ending implies that he will find another way to buy land and continue his father’s agricultural legacy.
How Berniece Used the Piano to Destroy Sutter’s Ghost
Berniece was reluctant to play the piano until Sutter’s ghost started appearing, who seemed to be there to haunt Boy Willie mostly. Berniece realized there was nothing more she could do to get rid of Sutter’s ghost and asked her ancestors for help, accepting Avery’s suggestion after their blessings had no impact. Berenice calls her ancestors by name while playing the pianocreating a powerful and tense scene that overlaps with Sutter’s ghost trying to kill Boy Willie upstairs. Through the strength of his family members through the spiritual vehicle of inheritance, Sutter’s ghost turned into ashes and dust.
Did Boy Willie kill Sutter?
The biggest question about why Sutter wants Boy Willie dead, specifically, remains unanswered at the end of The piano lesson. Boy Willie knows all about how Sutter died after falling down a well, but claims he had nothing to do with it, despite a plausible motive. Berniece thinks Boy Willie did it, but there is no hard evidence to support her suspicions. in the film and Boy Willie never confesses this. Sutter knows that Boy Charles stole the piano in the first place and could use his death to come back to haunt his children and grandchildren for that reason. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if Boy Willie confessed to pushing Sutter that much, given the heated altercation at the end of the film.
Why Berniece’s candle went out during Avery’s blessing
Despite his earnest efforts, Avery’s preaching skills are not powerful enough to thwart Sutter’s ghost, who is out for blood. Lights flicker and closet drawers open as Avery tries to combat Sutter’s wicked spirit, to no avail. When Avery’s candle is extinguished by Sutter’s dark forces, she and Avery realize they are dealing with a force more powerful than either of them could have imagined. The extinguishing of the candle raises the stakes and encourages Berniece to fight Sutter with its most powerful and effective defense: the piano.
Boy Willie’s fight with Sutter’s ghost explained
Boy Willie was physically attacked by Sutter’s ghost several times at the end of The piano lesson. He was thrown across the room after climbing the stairs and even supernaturally strangled by Sutter. Boy Willie is the third person to see Sutter along with Berniece and Maretha, as they are direct descendants of Boy Charles. The film employs horror and ghost fantasy elements to illustrate the figurative haunting of the Sutter family. about Boy Willie, Berniece and their ancestors. The piano lesson presents Sutter’s supernatural strength as fact, similar to true paranormal horror films such as Hereditary.
What does water on the floor mean in piano class
Water appears on the floor of Doaker’s house several times during the Piano Lesson. It seeps through the floorboards as if it has a sentient presence and motivation. When Boy Willie is fighting Sutter in an upstairs bedroom, there is also water splashing in the frame, which is another supernatural element added to the physical altercation. The inclusion of water in these scenes is probably ghostly evidence of Sutter’s presence after he died in the well. The water would not be there if Sutter’s ghost were not in the house and had no practical source other than to serve as evidence of Sutter’s presence.
The true meaning of the end of the piano lesson
When Boy Willie arrived at Doaker’s house, it was clear that Berniece knew he would bring trouble with him. She reserves herself to a peaceful and rigorous life, built around faith and supporting her son. Meanwhile, Boy Willie is always looking for a way to “get a lick” with Lymon and is naturally and fiercely defiant of the restrictions of the openly racist society in which he lives. personal lifestyles to deal with the seriousness of their enemy forces, which even return from the dead to haunt and take from them. Sutter may be seeking revenge for Boy Willie killing him, but more importantly he seeks to take him back as his property..
The climax of The piano lesson depends on the integral point of how Berniece and Boy Willie need to reevaluate their understanding of the world while honoring their ancestral lineage. None of them can continue living and at the same time be uprooted from their family roots. Berniece was so wronged and pushed away that she closed herself off from new advances and opportunities. Meanwhile, Boy Willie aims to make up for everything and more for all the hardships men like Sutter put his family through. Both brothers represent extreme and opposing reactions to the generational and systemic trauma in The piano lesson and find a way to come together to find empowerment and overcome their scars through family bonds.