johnmichael-2 This is a TV film based off a play. It should have stayed a play, because it just plain isn't good enough to be a movie. It's a very hokey sort of piece, mostly because of the bad acting and the weak ending.Hmmm, what else can I say about this film in order to fill up the required minimum? I don't really know. It's a mundane sort of thing that your teacher makes you watch in theater class because (s)he can't show the really good stuff (or because (s)he has really tame tastes in what is considered engaging drama).I'll admit, this movie is socially significant, and August Wilson did a fine job with the original storyline. But this made-for-TV thing is just verbatim crap.Final grade: 4/10

The_Kim_Kat In all truth, I watched this by mistake, thinking i was about to see the 2006 film by the same name. Although I still have to see the new film, this take of Piano Lesson was a nice surprise. Funny, smart, touching - it had it all. The storyline is great, evolving just at the right pace, without being too expected (as in Boring) or too melodramatic (as in Not my cup of tea). The plot has twists and turns, the characters are 3-D and interesting and the actors convincingly bring them to life. As I said - a very nice surprise for me, and I'm about to watch this all over again - this time with my boyfriend. I give it an easy 10 out of 10. Wonderful. >> Kim B. >> http://www.reviewsnest.com

serena_took I first viewed this film in a literature class in 2003, and it quickly became one of my favorites. It rather saddens me that so many people complain that there's no story, no action. There is a lot of story to this film, if you want to take the time to watch and appreciate it. Not every movie has to be a massive epic. This film is a story about a family and how some of the members want a better life and to purge the past of pain, and just like real life, some of the best stories are about the intimate moments and of the struggles we all face.If you enjoy a good drama, a story that slowly reveals the history behind the events you first see, this is the movie for you.

Mike (sutcal) I must confess I always have difficulty with some of the made for TV movies that I get to watch on my pay tv channels here in Australia.The Piano lesson is once such movie.The story line seems to have no real purpose other than a sibling squabble over a family piano. And I am not sure as to what the "supernatural" element to the movie is supposed to do in relation to enhancing the story. Without the absurdity of this, it may have passed as an acceptable "Afro american" period movie.I am not a big Charles Dutton fan and I feel there is an element of overacting at times with his character who I dislike more and more as the movie goes on.For me a 4/10 and that was being kind