Fences

This is a masterpiece, 10/10! 🔥 Denzel Washington is the Godfather of acting; he’s truly talented. Viola Davis did a hell of a job too what a collaboration! 🎞️🥰

In "Fences" Denzel Washington plays Troy – a bitter, self-centred and selfish man in his mid-fifties who loves the sound of his own voice. They say "empty vessels make the most noise" and here is a case in point. Set in the early fifties, race plays a strong card in every aspect of life, and Troy feels betrayed by a failed baseball career that – in his eyes at least – looked over his skills to the colour of his skin. But Troy is also a stubborn cuss, and refuses to acknowledge that even in the 50's "The times they are a changing'". His cussedness puts him on a collision course with his teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo), given his aspirations for a college football scholarship, and his mother (Viola Davis, "The Help") tries to keep the peace between the two of them. This is a film primarily about resistance to change. All those changes in the outside world are on the 'other side of the fence' that Troy habitually tries to finish but never seems to put his mind to. Fences keep things out; but they also keep things in, and Troy is in a cocoon of his own making. He justifies his actions as a 'family provider' with lengthy speeches but ultimately they deliver hollow words and assertions that don't stand up to scrutiny. This is a pressure cooker of family life that is primed to blow, and a revelation (which I didn't see coming) sets that fuse alight. This is a film worth watching for the acting performances of Denzel Washington and (particularly) Viola Davis, winner of the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA and a strong contender for the Oscar. Both give assured performances, although Troy is such an instantly dis- likable and pitiable character that I could feel my emotions influencing my judgement about his performance. But this is also a strong ensemble cast, with Mykelti Williamson (famously appearing as Bubba of the 'Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory' fame) being effective as Troy's disabled brother and English-born Jovan Adepo being particularly impressive in an extremely assured feature debut. However, the Broadway roots of the piece are highly visible with 98% of the film set either in the back yard, in the house, or on the front steps (the set could clearly rotate!). For such a claustrophobic topic, this is perhaps apt. But as a feature film I longed for the action to go elsewhere. The film version of the story – with a few tweaks to the screenplay – has lots of opportunities for this, but these are never taken. This makes the whole piece feel 'worthy but dull'. In particular, anyone looking for a useful tutorial on fence building needs to look elsewhere! As for the recent "Moonlight" there is also excessive use of the "N" word and other outdated racial references that have the potential to offend. Good luck to Viola Davis and Denzel Washington (who also directed this) for their Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor Oscars nominations. But "Best Film" Oscar? No, I don't think so. In truth this is a film that I will struggle to remember or get excited about in a month's time and it will not be on my re-watch list. (This review was written just prior to the 2017 Oscars. For the graphical version, and to comment, please visit bob-the-movie- man.com).

I may be the only person on earth comparing new race-drama Fences with 2009's superhero epic Watchmen, but hear me out. Both are based on acclaimed, non-film works (stage-play, comics); both are big, dramatic period-piece social stories; and despite their noble intentions and commitment to their sources, neither transfer as films. In what is only one step beyond a filming of the stage-play itself, Fences is a high school acting competition, with each performer delivering monologues with clockwork precision but with little connectivity. This is far from entirely the performers' faults. Most of the cast is the same from the most recent Broadway-run about this troubled 1950s black family. And while they were probably great on stage, the ultra-dramatics and super-written-feeling dialogue are ham-fisted on the big screen. Notably, the actors still have their moments. Adepo and Hornsby are standouts, and Davis is so great she even pulls off some blatant Oscar-clip moments. Unfortunately, they are asked to deliver some distractingly soap-operatic tragedies with impossible naturalism. At the center of all of this is director and star Washington, who despite his decent acting performance must take the blame overall. As the (perhaps warranted) bitter-old-man at the center of this tragedy train, he basically never stops talking, both verbally and in direction. Telling stories he's definitely told before and spouting off constant baseball metaphors, all I could think was how crazy it would drive me to be his friend. Worse yet, there's a dangerous message about abuse that is played off more like a character quirk than a problem. Fences is an occasionally stirring American period-piece whose troublesome & obnoxiously melodramatic awards-bait fodder becomes more-than-a-bit grating.