Page Revisions:

(August 25, 2024) Original
(November 3, 2024) New Poster (#2)
(November 24, 2024) New Trailer (#2)

Release Date:

November 22, 2024

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.”

Poster Rating: C / C+

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1, C) Context is important and this design doesn’t have enough of it. Setting the piano ablaze doesn’t seem to fit thematically to the film. That paired with the aggressively large, red lettering of the title, leaves a lot to be desired.

(#2, C+) While the design captures the essence of the period and the characters, it looks more like a stage play than an actual feature film.

Trailer Rating: B+ / B-

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1, B+) A strong trailer that makes the case that this adaptation of a stage-bound play will be effectively and broadly encased in the film so that it feels like a living, breathing effort. The performances aren’t given enough attention but the importance of the subject matter is better evoked than expected.

(#2, B-) Digging into the history of slavery in the U.S. by using a hand-crafted piano is a compelling conceit and it’s given decent attention with this trailer. It does wander a bit and that makes it difficult to pay attention for long periods of time but its importance is certainly evident even if the performances aren’t.

Oscar Prospects:

This should be one of the year’s major Oscar players as all the recent August Wilson films have been.

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Posters

Poster #1Poster #2