Skip to main content

Fences


Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, and Stephen Henderson
Directed by: Denzel Washington
Screenplay by: August Wilson
Based on the play by August Wilson

    Pittsburgh, 1957.  Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) is a sanitation department worker, who hangs on to the back of the garbage truck collecting people's trash.  He desperately wants to move up to be the truck driver.  Along with waiting for the weekend to come every week, he grumbles about his broken dreams of being a baseball player in the major leagues.  He was good enough once for the Negro leagues and is upset that Jackie Robinson was the first African American in the majors instead of him.  His disdain for Robinson spills over into his family where his son, Cory (Jovan Adepo), wants more than anything to play college football.  Troy is the patriarch of a dysfunctional family.  Troy is a bitter man, the opposite of his wife, Rose (Viola Davis).  Rose wants Cory to go after his dreams, but Troy feels that they will hold Cory back, and that Cory must do what is necessary for the family (such as getting a job and doing his fair share).  There is a lot of baggage surrounding this family, especially Troy.  He's even had an affair with a local woman which resulted in her getting pregnant.  Everything follows Troy like it's a dark cloud around him.  Even the construction of a fence in the backyard can't keep it out.
    Fences is a masterpiece film for a number of reasons.  Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both won Tony awards for their roles when the play was revived in 2010, and they both deliver award worthy performances in the film.  This is not a film where camera techniques or visual effects are shown off.  This film is extremely bare bones on that front, because that's not the focus of the film.  The focus is very clearly on the actors, and it shows.  This is a film that deals with social issues, economic issues, racial issues, and so much more.  Once you leave the theater after its 139 minute run time, you've seen a lot.  Almost too much to handle.  The dialogue is extremely fast paced, and for some parts of the film, it's almost non-stop.  At times, it feels more like a stage production and less like a film.  It is a brilliant translation from stage to screen.
   
I give Fences an A+.

Image Source: Teaser Trailer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unknown

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, and January Jones Directed by:   Jaume Collet-Serra Screenplay by: Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell     "They had me convinced I was crazy.  But when they came to take me I knew."  Identity theft is a major problem in today's world, but it can't get much worse than the situation present in Unknown .       While on a trip to a biotechnology conference in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is involved in a car crash putting him in a coma for four days.  He awakens to find out that not only has his identity been taken, but he has been replaced by someone who also claims to be him.  Even his wife Elizabeth (January Jones) claims to not recognize him.  He begins to believe that his entire life has been thrown away, or never existed at all.  As he finds people who can help him remember what happened to him before the crash, he becomes part of a conspiracy involving...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...
2 comments
Read more

Django Unchained

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino      I think it's safe to say that this film is the most badass film of 2012.  My only explanation; Quentin Tarantino!!!!      When someone asks what a Quentin Tarantino film is about, I first respond with "that's a good question".  But there is actually a real story behind all of his films, including Django Unchained.        Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a bounty hunter in the pre-Civil War South.  He's looking for a group of bandits known as the Brittle brothers.  He comes across a slave in a slave transport known as Django (the D is silent (Jamie Foxx)), who knows where to find the Brittle brothers.  But Django has a wife he wants to find (Kerry Washington).  She's a slave at a plantation owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). ...
1 comment
Read more