O.J. Simpson’s “trial of the century” over the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend bared divisions over race and law enforcement and brought an intersection of sports, crime, entertainment and class that was hard to turn away from.

August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson" deals profoundly with ancestry and heritage, which makes it all the more fitting that the new film adaptation, produced by Denzel Washington and directed by his son Malcolm, is a family affair.