Jackson plays Doaker Charles, uncle to brothers Boy Willie (Washington) and his widowed sister, Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler, replacing Danielle Brooks, who played the role on Broadway). Doaker is the film’s elder statesman, the voice of reason who owns the Pittsburgh house where Berniece and her 11-year-old daughter, Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith), live.

Boy Willie stayed in the South to sharecrop and eventually made a bid in a Mississippi prison. His sudden arrival at the Doaker home provokes an immediate sense of unease, as he is the bearer of big news: Sutter, the man whose family owned his enslaved ancestors, has died. He died after falling into a deep well.

The real purpose of Boy Willie’s visit is to sell the piano left to him and Berniece by their late mother, Mama Ola. He recruits his friend Lymon (Ray Fisher), a woman hunter, to help him with the heavy lifting. Funds from the sale will be used to purchase the Sutter property. Boy Willie plans to work the land for profit, something his ancestors were not allowed to do.

“Berniece is not going to sell that piano,” Doaker repeats throughout the film, a maddening mantra.

You are right. Berniece will not hear of any sales, even though she stopped playing the piano after Mama Ola’s death. The instrument features an intricately hand-carved history of the Charles family, made by one of their ancestors – it is one of a kind. The tragic circumstances surrounding the purchase of the piano and how it ended up in the Doaker home make it even more relevant to the family.

Boy Willie doesn’t care about anything. Berniece believes her brother sneaked up on Sutter and pushed him to death so he could get the land. He responds that Sutter was the victim of a vengeful spirit called the “Yellow Dog Ghost.” Every time someone says that name, they say it quickly, as if it were one long word put together.

There is a deep respect and fear for ghosts in “The Piano Lesson,” as this film is a ghost story. The Charles family is haunted by their past and cursed by the present. Berniece claims that she stopped playing the piano because she kept seeing Sutter’s ghost, and is backed up by Doaker and Maretha. A final confrontation is imminent when Berniece’s pastor suitor, Avery (a stern Corey Hawkins), is asked to bless the house.

I have seen the original production on Broadway, as well as its two revivals; and even in the production used for this film, there was no need to exaggerate the ghostly effects on stage. The claustrophobia of the set added to the reactions of the actors was enough.

I was hoping this adaptation wouldn’t be so big simply for the sake of movie magic, diminishing the overall effect. Unfortunately, Washington and his co-adapter, Virgil Williams, exaggerate the work’s supernatural elements, as if this were a literal rather than figurative horror film.

John David Washington’s performance also stands out, although it is a case of two wrongs made right. Washington plays Boy Willie broadly, as if he were still playing the role on Broadway, but since the character is meant to be an obnoxious showboat, it actually works.

Wilson’s works often have music and comic relief. Both are provided here by Wining Boy (Michael Potts), Doaker’s older brother, a former musician and one of the few people who plays that prized piano. Potts has a great relationship with a restrained but very effective Jackson, but his scene with Fisher’s desperate would-be scoundrel almost steals the movie.

Fisher and Deadwyler also appear in the film’s best scene, a late-night argument that crackles with erotic tension. If Deadwyler gets a well-deserved Oscar nomination, this scene will be the clip you see on the show.

“The Piano Lesson” is my favorite Wilson work, so I confess that I watch this film with the critical eye one reserves for newer versions of the things they love. Still, this Denzel Washington family affair is worth a watch (Washington and his daughter, Katia, produced it, his son directed it, and his other son stars). It captures the spirit of Wilson’s magnificent prose and moves audiences in the way the author intended.

★★★

THE PIANO LESSON

Directed by Malcolm Washington. Written by Washington and Virgil Williams, based on “The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Ray Fisher, Skylar Aleece Smith, Corey Hawkins. At Landmark Kendall Square. On Netflix starting November 22. 125 min. Rated PG-13 (blasphemy, violence)

Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe’s film critic.