Fences has impressive credentials. It is based on the Tony
and Pulitzer Prize winner play by August Wilson, adapted for the screen by
Wilson himself before his death in 2005 (Though one potentially dubious
internet source claims that Wilson’s adaptation was completed by Tony Kushner
who received a producer credit instead of a writing credit). It stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis who both won Tony Awards for their performances in a
2010 revival—the production itself won Best Revival—andit is directed by
Washington himself. Now, Fences has earned four Academy Award nominations,
including Best Picture and acting nominations for Washington and Davis. Viola Davis seems to be a lock for Supporting Actress,
and Washington seems to have a good shot at snagging another Oscar.
Set in a working class black neighborhood in mid-1950’s
Pittsburgh, Fences is the story of an aging and bitter man, Troy Maxson
(Washington), and his strained if not dysfunctional relationship with his sons
and his wife, Rose (Viola Davis). To say that Troy thinks of himself as a
working-class hero would be an understatement. Everything he does, whether at
work or at home, is done out of sense of responsibility and obligation. Loving,
or even liking, his own family doesn’t enter in to it; Troy puts a roof over
their heads and food on the table because that is what he is supposed to do.
Shouldn’t that be enough? Shouldn’t his teenage son, Cory, forego school sports
and potential recruitment by a college to help Troy build a fence in return? Or
perhaps Troy is afraid of seeing his own failed professional sports aspirations
realized by his son? There is a lot to observe and ponder and it is no wonder
that Fences is assigned reading for certain college classes.
I haven’t seen either of the films Denzel Washington has
directed previously (2002's Antwone Fisher and 2007's The Great Debaters), but
here his directorial style is simple and straightforward: let the performances
carry the movie forward. This approach works, to a point. Fences, being based
on a play, is dialogue heavy. There isn’t much fence building or baseball
playing, though both are important to the story; they are more important as
metaphors. What is important is the performances which are very good indeed.
Troy is a complex but not very likable character—no doubt this is what was
intended by Wilson—and Washington excellently plays him as such. He has a comfort and
ease for the rhythm of Wilson’s dialogue. Conversations with Troy usually turn
into monologues that his family and friends have heard before but tolerate.
Viola Davis’s Rose is a mostly reactionary character, but only because there is
no other way to be with a character like Troy. She is the one who patches
things up with Troy’s sons and his mentally disabled brother, Gabe. Rose
finally does get a big scene pouring out her feelings and frustrations which is
delivered quite well by Davis.
I didn’t mind the heavyhandedness of the fence metaphor.
Troy’s jovial and wiser than he lets on best friend, Bono, tells him that some
people build fences to keep people out and some people build fences to keep
people in. The film does not treat this as a revelation, but as a reminder to
Troy that certain situations must be dealt with sooner rather than later.
As Fences spilled over two hours with scene after scene of shouting
and yelling I grew listless. Even if you did not know that Fences is based on a
play, it would not be difficult to make that guess. The characters feel confined to one or two locations. There are a few brief scenes at other
locations but this film adaptation does not “open up” the play. This is inescapable in a play, but in a
film without a distinct visual style or lively dialogue or performances it feels
constricting. This is a film of big, serious performances and big, serious
speeches but it doesn’t add up to much aside from being a showcase of top notch
actors at the top of their game.
Nominee:Todd Black,
Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington
Director: Denzel Washington
Screenplay: August Wilson, based on his play
Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson
Production Companies: Bron Creative, Macro Media, Scott
Rudin Productions
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 16th, 2016
Total Nominations: 4, including Best Picture Other Nominations: Actor-Denzel Washington, Supporting
Actress-Viola Davis, Adapted Screenplay-August Wilson
by Lani Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings orTCM.comfor actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.) Tuesdays in January: Great Capers A month of bank jobs, jewel heists, and art thefts! This is one of my favorite film genres; I just love watching the gang assemble and layout a plan, then seeing how it all plays out. The films range from clever comedies like The Pink Panther (1/1) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1/29) to gritty noirs like Rififi (1/1) and Bob le Flambeur (1/8). As a fan of the genre, I've seen quite a few caper movies; however, about half the titles in this series are films I'd never even heard of! These are a few of the ones I want to check out this month: 1/1, 2:15 AM - Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
1/8, 10:15 PM - Seven Thieves (1960)
1/15, 8 PM - The League of Gentleman (1960)
1/22, 4 AM - The Anderson Tapes (1971)
1/23, 6 AM - The Split (1968)
1/6: Starring Sessue Hayakawa 12 AM - The Cheat (1915) 1 AM - The Dragon Painter (1919) Sessue Hayakawa rose to stardom during the silent era, the first Asian actor to reach that status in Hollywood. I'm having a hard time thinking of any Asian actor since Hayakawa who has risen to the same level of popularity and industry clout. Tonight you can see the film that made him a star (even though he plays the villain), The Cheat, and one of the films made by Hayakawa's own production company, The Dragon Painter. 1/7: Bill Paxton's Picks 8 PM - Juliet of the Spirits (1965) 10:30 PM - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) 12:30 AM - California Split (1974) 2:30 AM - The Last Detail (1973) Oftentimes, the celebrity guest programmers select films which seem a tad safe and predictable, e.g. Lawrence of Arabia, Network, My Fair Lady. So, it is refreshing when someone picks films which are rarely shown on TCM, as Bill Paxton has done this month. Two European art house classics followed by two prime examples of 70s American cinema. BONUS PICK: 1/7, 4:30 AM - A Soldier's Story (1984) Catch an early performance by Denzel Washington in this drama, directed by Norman Jewison, about racism in the army during WWII. (By the way, Washington also gives a great performance in Flight, which may still be playing in a theatre near you.) 1/13, 10 AM - Les Miserables (1935) A musical version of "Les Mis" is now on the big screen, the latest in a long line of film adaptations from Victor Hugo's classic novel. (Of course, the current film is really more of an adaptation of the stage musical; therefore, it's heavy on music, light on context.) This 1935 version is regarded as one of the best adaptations and features two of the top actors of the era, Fredric March and Charles Laughton, going head to head as Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert. 1/16, 2 PM - The Detective (1954) Alec Guinness was surely one of the most versatile actors to grace stage and screen. He is best known today as Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars (the only performance from the Star Wars series to earn an Academy Award nomination), or for his Oscar-winning performance in the WWII drama Bridge on the River Kwai. However, I think my favorite Guinness performances are in comedies, like tonight's film. He plays Father Brown, a country priest who sets out to catch an art thief. The role seems to have made an impression on Guinness, too - he and his wife subsequently converted to Catholicism. 1/20: Danny Kaye's 100th It is my personal opinion that Danny Kaye was one of the greatest American entertainers of the 20th century. Actor, singer, comedian, showman - he could even dance a little. The TCM programming elves must agree with me as today they devote all programming to Kaye. The featured films are all delightful, exuberant comedies - I would particularly recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (6 PM), Hans Christian Andersen (8 PM), and A Song is Born (12 AM). Also in the mix is an episode of The Danny Kaye Show (6 AM), Kaye's variety show from the mid-60s, and his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show (10:30 AM) in 1971. Happy New Year, everyone!
