Review: Fences

Fences (12A)

USA 2016  139 mins  Dir: Denzel Washington Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Stephen Henderson

Why is this a movie? That’s a question to which Denzel Washington’s third film as director fails to provide a satisfactory answer. For all its many merits in the acting department, Fences never feels like much more than a filmed record of a stage production. Indeed, Washington and Viola Davis have already bagged Tony Awards for their performances in the 2010 Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. On screen, this experience shows as they capture effortlessly the cadence and rhythm of Wilson’s dense dialogue while somehow managing to make these characters fresh and entirely believable. Those Oscar nominations for Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay are well deserved; the Best Picture nod less so.

We’re in 1950s Pittsburgh, where fiftysomething Troy (Washington) and his old chum Bono (not the pompous popster, but Stephen Henderson) work as garbage men. At first, Troy comes across as a lovable, loquacious spinner of tall tales, with that familiar Denzel Washington glint in his eye, deeply in love with his occasionally exasperated wife Rose (Davis) and proud of his achievements in putting a roof over her head. After work, he enjoys nothing more than shooting the shit over a bottle of gin in his backyard. Slowly, we come to learn more about this stubborn, illiterate patriarch through his interactions with the rest of the family. Brother Gabe (Williamson) returned from WWII with a steel plate in his head and is now a tad simple. Musician Lyons (Hornsby) is Troy’s easygoing eldest son from a previous relationship who gets a tongue-lashing when he pops round to borrow $10 on payday. But that’s as nothing compared to the scorn heaped upon teenage Cory (Adepo), who has the opportunity to become a baseball professional.

There’s no question that this is something of an acting masterclass, with the entire cast completely inhabiting their characters and making even the tiniest gesture count. The leads also get plenty of opportunity for full-on emoting to showcase in the trailer and snare the attention of gong-givers. Written before his death way back in 2005 (which underlines how long this project has been gestating), Wilson’s skilfully constructed screenplay lays bare the corrosive jealousy that leads Troy to thwart Cory’s dreams while being perhaps rather too quick to blame racism for his own misfortunes. A big revelation best not disclosed here also underlines his selfishness, giving Davis an opportunity to seize the spotlight. Even his greatest accomplishment turns out to have a sting in the tail.

Clearly, Washington the director’s intention here was to deliver an intense performance hothouse. In this, he succeeds magnificently. But very little attempt is made to open up the play, giving it the rather flat and stiff feel of those early studio-bound Hollywood adaptations of stage productions. Many theatrical devices are left intact, from the lengthy monologues to Lyons’ and Cory’s respective abilities being described rather than shown. Indeed, when Lyons practically begs his father to come and watch him play, one can’t help egging him on just to see him get out of the house of an evening for once.