Directed by: Denzel Washington
Written by: August Wilson (based on the play Fences, also by August Wilson)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson
IMDb Link
It didn't surprise me after watching Fences to hear that it was based on a play. The film carries a lot of the telltale trademarks that I first noticed in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) when I watched that last year; everything about the plot is moved through dialogue and told to us directly, while being framed in a limited number of settings with a limited number of characters. Fences doesn't do much to suggest that it was improved by being a film, doing very little with the camera to show us anything more than what we can plainly see; all significance within the film comes from the plot structure, the dialogue, the acting, with nothing to suggest that I'm getting more from this adaptation because it's a film. That said, the structure, the dialogue and the acting are all fantastically handled.
The film centres around the family of Troy Maxson (Washington), with particular focus on Troy himself and the effect he has upon the lives of the people around him. Fences uses Troy's damaged and jaded perspective to consider many themes and issues surrounding family, influence, and to an extent race, which feels appropriate given the plot's 50s setting.
*Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead*
Troy is a complicated figure, espousing a generally hard-headed attitude while his actions suggest an odd love for his family combined with some selfishness, self-hatred, and an inability to move forward. He was once an excellent baseball player in the Negro League, but never made it in to the Majors. Rather than make it plainly about the colour of his skin, the film complicates the discussion with the fact that Troy has committed manslaughter and spent fifteen years in prison, and accused by his wife Rose (Davis) of being too old to play the Majors at that point. Despite this knowledge Troy insists on blaming it entirely on racism, and attempts to force this attitude upon his son Cory (Jovan Adepo), who is himself a football player with talent scouts looking at him to play college football. Troy fights hard against his son's opportunity to play, professing the idea that times hadn't changed and that Cory would never get a real opportunity to play, while Cory tries his best to show his dad that times had changed and that he could make something of himself. Troy shuts Cory's goals down adamantly, however, preventing from Cory from continuing to play football altogether. This is just one aspect of a multi-faceted story looking at this family, and it's such compelling work because it doesn't simplify any of the issues it presents. Troy isn't wrong about the racism he experiences, Cory isn't wrong about his own opportunity; social grey areas as well as moral ones are the film's focus, and despite the often unlikable actions of Troy there's a few sympathetic moments as well.
All of this is presented through the excellent acting of everyone involved. Denzel is amazing, reminding why he has two Oscars by carrying the film and guiding the plot through his movement and dialogue, offering a powerful performance that every other actor plays well off of, particularly Viola Davis, who plays wonderfully as a counter to Denzel, the moral to his immoral, the soft to his hard, the weak to his strong. Each actor is in some way worthwhile when they appear on screen, so while Denzel may not have made the most out of the camera, he certainly got the very best out of every actor he put on-screen.
The Verdict: Fences doesn't take advantage of the fact that it's a film, but it still offers fantastic dialogue to propel the story and express important themes; Denzel's performance also more than makes up for his few directorial shortcomings. With a strong examination of issues such as race, self-hatred, and the dysfunctional ways in which people can love, backed by great acting from everyone involved, Fences is well worth the watch
Rating: 7.5/10
Published February 9th, 2017
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