Denzel Washington's August Wilson project — the Oscar winner plans to bring all 10 of Wilson's plays to the screen — continues with "The Piano Lesson," a mixed bag of an adaptation of Wilson's 1987 play.

Washington is a producer on the project, which is a family affair for the Washingtons: His son John David Washington stars in the film, and his other son Malcolm Washington directs, marking his directorial debut. (Washington's wife Pauletta and daughter Olivia also appear in the film, and his daughter Katia is a producer.)

Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, the story follows Berniece Charles (Danielle Deadwyler), whose family piano sits in her living room, unplayed. It's an heirloom, steeped in family history and tragedy, as it features the carved likenesses of her ancestors and was once traded for members of her family.

Berniece's brother Boy Willie (John David Washington) comes by the house with his pal Lymon ("Justice League's" Ray Fisher, transformed), and wants to take the piano off her hands and sell it to raise money so he can start his own farm.

Thus ignites an impassioned discussion of the piano and everything it represents, as well as the ghosts of the past it contains inside its woodwork, and eventually unlocks.

"The Piano Lesson" features a solid supporting cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Potts and Corey Hawkins, several of whom have experience with the Pulitzer-winning stage play.

The stage play looms large in Washington's direction, as the film feels more like a filmed play than it does a work tailored for the screen. That's both in its staging, which largely unfolds in the Charles living room, and in its performances, especially Washington's, who tends to shout his dialogue in an outsize manner like he's projecting to the back of the theater.

And the movie's turn toward supernatural horror feels like an abrupt shift in tone, a too literal illustration of the film's haunting themes.

Deadwyler, unfairly looked over for Oscar consideration for her work in "Till," manages to cut through the clutter with a focused, nuanced performance that gives Berniece a beating heart amid all the noise around her. "The Piano Lesson" is best when it's in her hands, even if otherwise it could use some tuning.

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'THE PIANO LESSON'

Grade: C+

MPA rating: PG-13 (for strong language, violent content, some suggestive references and smoking)

Running time: 2:05

How to watch: On Netflix Nov. 22

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