Fences

Based on August Wilson's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and featuring almost the entire cast from an acclaimed 2010 Broadway revival (all but one of the main Broadway cast reprise their roles here), Fences manages to be just as powerful and at times emotionally draining on the screen as it was on the stage.  The intelligent dialogue and raw emotion is all here, which is sure to make fans of the original work overjoyed.  The movie does seem to be a bit limited in scope, and sometimes it can feel like we're watching a stage play up on the screen.  But the drama here is so involving, I honestly did not care.

Denzel Washington not only leads the cast, as he did in the earlier stage play, but he also directs the film.  This is only the third time he has stepped behind the camera, and while he doesn't really show off any great directing or film tricks here, he doesn't need to.  He simply lets his cast brilliantly deliver the dialogue, and lets the drama of the situation grow from the performances.   Just as when I saw the production in New York back in the summer of 2010, the cast manages to capture every bit of power and essences from Wilson's words.  As for Washington himself, I feel that this stands as one of his truly great performances in his career, ranking alongside Malcolm X and Training Day.  It's a versatile performance that truly shows off his range, and will hopefully be remembered during the Award Season.

Like all of August Wilson's work, Fences takes a look at race relations during a time of change.  Here, it is at some point in the mid to late 1950s.  Troy (Washington) is a former baseball player for the Negro League who has lived with the frustration the past few decades that he never got a chance to play for the Majors, and that his time came before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the game.  Now 53 years old, having been married 18 years to Rose (Viola Davis, giving a career-topping performance) and with two sons (one from a previous marriage, and an adult and living out of the house, the other a teenager in high school), Troy has a lot of regrets and dreams of what could have been if things had worked out differently.  He now works as a garbageman with his best friend Bono (Stephen Henderson).  In his small home, it's just him, his wife, and his teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo).  His older son, Lyons (Russell Hornsby), often stops by when it is Troy's pay day, asking to borrow money.  There are also frequent visits from Troy's brother, Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson), who is mentally ill ever since he suffered a massive head injury while fighting in World War II.

The film follows many of the struggles and personal conflicts that occur within Troy's home.  A majority of the drama is built from his relationship with his youngest son, Cory.  Both are hard headed, and don't want to set aside their beliefs.  Cory's main dream is to attend college with the help of a football scholarship, but Troy's memories of his time playing sports and never getting anywhere makes him completely against the idea, and creates a large rift between the two men.  Everything builds to a head when Troy must confess to Rose that he has been having an affair, and that the woman he has been seeing is now pregnant.  Just as in the play, this is the best written scene in the film, and the way that Viola Davis portrays Rose's frustration and anger over her husband's actions should pretty much guarantee that she will get nominated right alongside Washington.  (Both won Tony Awards for their original performances, and I can only hope the Oscars repeat.)

Fences is for a certain kind of audience, and I fear that it might be a limited one.  This is a movie built entirely around dialogue.  There are no big moments, other than the emotional ones, and the action never really leaves Troy's house or his backyard.  Some have criticized this approach, saying that the film isn't opened up enough beyond the confines of the original play.  But, I think it works here.  Using this minimalist approach, Washington is able to put all the attention on where it needs to be, the masterful words and the performances delivering them.  This is not your typical Hollywood holiday movie, and some people might be put off by the film's approach.  But those who are willing to let themselves get wrapped up in the lives and intensity of these characters will be richly rewarded. 

Rich in emotion and power, Fences is easily one of the great films of the year, and hopefully will be met with numerous awards.  Since the 2010 Broadway production was never filmed for television, it's great to have this film to capture these unforgettable performances.  In my mind, this is the best acted film of 2016.

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