Film: Fences

GENRE: Drama

RATING: PG-13 for thematic elements and some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 18 minutes

STARRING: Denzel Washington (Training Day, Flight, Man on Fire)

Viola Davis (The Help, Doubt), Stephen Henderson (Lincoln)

DIRECTOR: Denzel Washington (Great Debaters, Antwone Fisher)

WRITER: August Wilson (plays - Fences, The Piano Lesson)

PLOT: An African-American father raises his family while coming to terms with the events of his life.

FULL DISCLOSURE: The play got a lot of love from the Tony Awards.

STORY STUFF: This was a tough film to watch. The drama is at full tilt and makes you uncomfortable at times. I had a bit of a hard time as I could not relate to an angry father who takes out his shattered dreams on his family and loves the sound of his own voice. My father is awesome. As this was originally a play, there is a lot of dialogue coming at you. One of the opening scenes has Denzel carrying on for what felt like twenty minutes and I was tempted to yell ‘shut up’ at the screen. But I believe that’s the point and if I was watching all of this take place on a stage, I would be drawn in even further.

ACTING STUFF: Denzel does a great job and made me hate him. If he was hoping I would sympathize, that didn’t really happen. All my sympathy was for his son (Jovan Adepo) and his wife, played fantastically by Davis. She better get an Oscar nomination, if not a win, for her amazing performance. With a small cast, everyone gets great moments to shine. This really is an actor’s film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The claustrophobic-ness of the back patio works well. With the exception of some interiors, it looks like it could just as easily be played on a stage. There is an oddly placed cross dissolve in the middle of the film which basically moves Mykelti William’s special needs brother Gabriel from the side of the house to the front steps. It took me out to the film for a moment. But that’s about all.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Denzel, Davis and uncomfortable drama

UPCOMING REVIEWS: La La Land