Fences

This film is about a man. A man who carries the burden of generations of hardship, who couldn't fulfill his own greatest dreams because of the oppressive context in which he lived and who tries to close himself off from the world with fences. Tragically, in closing himself off he loses site of the changing times, he boxes his loved-ones in, and he creates an oppressive environment that emulates everything he tried to guard against. The timeless question lies within this story (adapted from a Pulitzer winning play) is: can we hate a man like this? Or, when we consider his circumstances and trials, is he a hero to admire?

It's worth seeing and is worthy of praise. If not from the acting (particularly Viola's), from the captivating and poetic screenplay. Every word uttered seems calculated by the mind of a genius.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are truly great actors. They draw you in immediately to the story. Mykelti Williamson too. Great play with the best acting around! Enjoy this film. They are far and few between.

Troy Maxson missed out on so many opportunities as a young man, held back for one reason alone, his colour, when it comes to his own family, he can't help but be influenced by the bitterness inside of him.

It's a solid movie, it's one of those where when it finished, I contemplated how awesome it would be seeing this on stage, I could only imagine seeing Troy ranting to a captivated audience about the injustice of it all.

I've got to be honest, at times I found this quite a frustration watch, the movie's time line seemed to randomly jump about at times, I couldn't see the purpose it served. I found Troy quite hard to connect with, definitely an angry and frustrated guy, he seemed to take his frustrations out on those closest to him, talk about tough love.

I found the visuals very pleasing, nice camera work, very easy on the eye.

Fences is definitely well acted, Washington was very good, but Viola Davies was outstanding, I thought she stole the show, as she so always does.

6/10.

When you pair up Denzel Washington with Viola Davis on screen, you know you're in for two of the most outstanding performances you'll see all year and that's exactly what you get from FENCES. That said, if only director Denzel Washington and his crew could've figured out some ways to lessen the stage play feel to it and make this seem more cinematic. But then again, breaking out of that format is indeed usually the challenge when dealing with straight up adaptations from stage plays, just like "August: Osage County" a few years ago.

Scripted by August Wilson, adapted by Wilson's own Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Denzel Washington plays an African-American father struggling with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s. He's still bitter from his doomed baseball career in the past, blames it on the white man, so when his son tries to get into sports, he discourages him, telling him that the white man wouldn't give him a single opportunity out there in the field. Denzel's character's wife, played by Viola Davis, faithfully stands by his side despite the secret that would change their family forever.

Story-wise, it doesn't get more well-thought out than FENCES, it's dialogue-driven, it's performance-driven, this material is every actor's dream come true because it has so many layers and it provides room for you to showcase the best version of your chops. We know Denzel and Viola Davis are phenomenal, but FENCES allows them to venture into places and show us shades that may not have been seen before. And I'm sure it feels liberating for all the actors involved in this film to just dig deep down, tap into those emotions and lay them bare for the world to see, and there's no wrong way of doing it.

The conflicts in FENCES are powerful, like a fist through a wall. Nuances surround the characters so you end up understanding where they're coming from despite being in agreement or disagreement with many of their decisions. To a certain extent, I think Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin fans would find FENCES appealing since each of the characters has incredibly long lines that run like 100 mph. Marital affair, resentments, built up hatred, forgiving your past, there's no shortage of drama in FENCES, its cup overflows. But again, as I said earlier, I think there's a missed opportunity here, the film just didn't do enough to make itself appear cinematic. Composer Marcelo Zarvos' music is almost non-existent. Forget the backseat, many of film's elements are practically locked up in the trunk.

I would give this film a good 7.5 out of 10 stars. I read some mixed reviews about this film and I'm on the side that says it's good, a bit long for what it was trying to deliver, but good. This film didn't need all of the thrills or heavy duty suspense to stay afloat. With brilliant and top notch actors like Denzel Washington and Viola Davis playing the leads their performances alone will make this film something worth seeing. Being that this film is from a stage play it's almost as if this were just a stage play done on a movie set, that's probably why it had so many bad reviews but I think the director (Denzel Washington) wanted it that way. This is purely a drama film delivered well by some of the most brilliant acting I have ever seen. I must admit, it does take a little while for the story to get good but it's well worth the wait. If you're into drama filled experiences with lots of symbolism and good acting I highly recommend this film.