Fences (2016)

Movie: Fences

Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley

Release Date: December 25, 2016

Rating:

3 1/2 Stars; Very Good

The words of August Wilson are the true star of Denzel Washington’s Fences. Sure, both Washington and Viola Davis give Oscar-worthy performances as Troy and Rose Maxson (Davis, in particular is outstanding), but it’s the everyman style of Wilson’s writing that makes this play-turned-movie magical. There’s something almost Shakespearean to the pattern of speech Wilson provides the characters; a rhythm and flow seldom achieved by writers. Given their obvious admiration for the source material, it's likely that both Washington and Davis would agree with this assessment. It’s clear that for both of them, this is more than just another role in some movie; this is a labor of love, and Washington and Davis pour their hearts and souls into their characters.
           As mentioned above, Washington stars as Troy Maxson, a vivid storyteller with an almost mythical past, at least, according to the way he tells it. Rose (Viola Davis), his wife, is always nearby to call his bluff and add some realism to his tall tales. Troy works as a garbage man in 1950’s Philadelphia, and believes society has constructed a fence around him through segregationist policies that he argues prevented him from becoming a Major League Baseball player (though Rose suggests his age at the time of tryouts may have been the larger issue). This leads to conflict with Troy’s son, Cory (Jovan Adepo), who hopes to someday play football in the NFL. Troy claims that this goal is unrealistic and argues that should Cory take up a trade instead. Though he suggests that Cory would likely be an unsuccessful pro athlete due to the color of his skin, the bitterness with which Troy speaks of his failed baseball career suggests a tinge of jealousy and resentment underlining the rejection of his son's dream.

Even after it’s revealed that just about every other sentence spoken by Troy is hyperbole, it's hard not to feel sympathy for him. A conversation with his friend, Bono (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and his oldest son from an earlier marriage, Lyons (Russell Hornsby), reveals a childhood that ended far too early due to a runaway mother an abusive father. This is a man who appears to have sacrificed much for his family, working a laborious job while attempting to maintain and care for his home. His only relief from life comes on Friday evenings when he shares drinks with Bono in the backyard. Troy is exhausted, and the audience can see it in Washington’s eyes. In Troy, Washington portrays a man who simultaneously loves life even as he resents the one he’s living. He oozes with charisma and charm, yet through his smile, there’s a hint of frustration.

Equally as mesmerizing is Viola Davis as Rose. Every chance she gets on screen she manages to steal the show; no easy feat given the performances of her co-stars. Like Troy, Rose is tired. She remembers loving her husband long ago, but she’s starting to forget why that was. Eventually, after Troy’s admission of an affair that he plans to continue regardless of her feelings, she finds herself trapped; fenced in by a marriage that long ago lost its purpose, as well as by Troy’s cruelty to her son. Davis’s performance is so strong, after a heated exchange with Troy, the audience literally witnesses the life drain from Rose’s body. Her face fills with sorrow as she realizes that, as an African American woman in 1950’s America, there is no gate through the fence that has her trapped.

In addition to Washington and Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, portraying Troy’s best friend, Bono, deserves quite a bit of recognition as well. There’s such an endearing quality to his performance; he’s not only Troy’s best friend, he’s the audience’s best friend too.

One final note: there are really only two settings in Fences, in which nearly the entire movie takes place; the kitchen/living room and the backyard. Some have suggested this gives the film a play-like feel and detracts from the movie’s overall quality. They could not be more wrong. In only showing the same two settings that Troy and Rose see every day, the same fences that surround the main characters begin to surround the audience. Viewers feel their burdens and understand their frustrations. It was a brilliant decision that adds an additional layer of emotional depth to what was already a compelling film.