The Washingtons can sure make entertaining movies based on August Wilson’s plays.

Following the success of the film versions of August Wilson’s plays “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Denzel Washington is back to produce another one of Wilson’s plays, “The Piano Lesson.” But this time, it’s directed by his son Malcolm and stars his other son John David. I’m going to do my best to make an important distinction on which Washington I’m referring to in this review.

With the screenplay by Malcolm Washington and Virgil Williams, they all craft an entertaining film version that respects Wilson’s work, and has the right actors nailing their roles with vibrance and emotions. Think of the sibling rivalry spoken with realism and humanity, instead of exhausting cliches. Think about how the time period of 1930s during the Great Depression brings out the best and worst qualities of the characters. And think about the roots of these people, and what comes out of it.

We meet Boy Willie Charles (John David Washington) and his business partner and friend Lymon (Ray Fisher), who arrive in Pittsburgh (actually filmed in Atlanta) to sell watermelons and come home to see Boy Willie’s uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson), who owns a piano with carvings by their enslaved ancestor, and his sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler), who sees the spirit of Sutter, the slave owner, who fell down a well.

Boy Willie intends to sell his watermelons as well as the piano, so he can buy Sutter’s land, the same place their ancestors toiled and slaved. But Berniece denies it, and suggests that if this is the reason why he came home, then he’s wasting his time. And meanwhile, she already has enough on her plate with her raising her daughter Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith), still mourning the loss of her husband Crawley, blaming it on her brother, and rebuffing the affections of the local preacher Avery (Corey Hawkins), who tries to tell her to move on with her life. The last thing she needs is more conflicts in her life.

This isn’t the first film version of the play, as “The Piano Lesson” was transitioned into a Hallmark movie with Charles S. Dutton and Alfre Woodard in the mix. But the way the Washingtons handle this version, it sure feels like a first time. Especially when John David Washington, Deadwyler, Jackson, Fisher, Hawkins, and Michael Potts (as Doaker’s brother Wining Boy) are exceptional in their portrayals of Wilson’s stage characters.

Let me make a distinction in regards the supernatural activity here. Last month, I panned “Hold Your Breath,” which was a horror movie set during the Dust Bowl, which contributed to the Great Depression. It dealt with an evil force who comes in the form of the dust and possess you when you breathe him in. I felt it was another tired exercise in horror movie cliches, even when it took place in the 1930s.

Now, we have this new version of “The Piano Lesson,” which likes to oversell the Sutter entity when the preacher must bless the piano and the house, and when Boy Willie spreads some water around, only to be thrown towards a wall by it. Getting a little excessive around here, aren’t we? But at least the dialogue here is more committed than what was presented in “Hold Your Breath.” Besides I’ve never seen the play, so what do I know?

Most of the time, we’re looking at the beautiful cinematography by Mike Gioulakis (“It Follows,” “Us”) and listening to the riveting score composed by Alexandre Desplat, while acknowledging how the movie performances make us feel like we’re watching a new stage production of “The Piano Lesson.” I wonder what Wilson play the Washingtons will take on next.

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