Best Pictures #36: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Lion

by A.J.

Best Pictures #36: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Lion

It’s odd that Lion is a film based on a true story, yet its premise seems familiar: a young man searches for the family he was separated from as a young boy. Yet, the events in Lion are so improbable-but-true that you can’t help but be surprised and awed at how the life its main character, Saroo Brierly, unfolded. Lion tugs at your heartstrings and stirs up emotions in all the ways you would expect and… it works. If you cry at movies, you’ll likely feel the tears flow while watching Lion and that’s okay.

There are two distinct parts to Lion. In the first half, we see little Saroo living with his mother and older brother in a poor rural village in India. His older brother, Guddu, takes random chores and odd jobs to help support their family. One night, a new job means traveling by train at night. Saroo is eager and excited to help, and Guddu reluctantly brings him along. Guddu leaves Saroo at a train station and tells him to wait while he sees about the job. Saroo falls asleep and wakes up in the middle of the night to find the train station deserted. He calls out for his brother and looks for him on an out of service train which springs into service and takes him thousands of miles away from his home.

Young Sunny Pawar, who plays Saroo as a child, is remarkably good on screen. His wide-eyed precociousness helps him survive on the streets of Calcutta where he doesn’t speak the local language and can’t pronounce the name of his hometown. He finds his way into an orphanage that seems too similar to a prison, but it is here that he is adopted by an Australian couple played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham.

A jump in time takes us to the second part of the film. As a young man, Saroo, now played by Dev Patel, feels more Australian than Indian. He is disconnected from his Indian heritage until a chance sense memory inspires him to track down his original home and mother and brother. It is at this point that Lion treads close to cliché territory. Dev Patel has many scenes where he is moody, depressed, and conflicted about his quest. Does searching for his real mother mean he’s ungrateful to his adoptive mother? The movie seems more concerned with the mechanics of how he finds out where his childhood village in India is (with much internet research and Google Earth), than with what is going on inside of the characters. Older Saroo’s emotions, which should be driving the second half of Lion, feel more obligatory than earned. That’s not to say that when the big scenes in this movie come they don’t bring pathos. The final scenes of Lion are genuinely moving.

I wouldn’t say that Lion is an uneven film, but from a technical standpoint the best part of Lion is young Saroo’s near dialogue free journey through the streets of Calcutta. He encounters uncaring adults, seemingly kind but actually sinister adults, and journeys by foot in a direction that he hopes will take him home. Director Garth Davis keeps the camera and the audience at a distance from young Saroo, giving this sequence the feel of a documentary. Every unlikely encounter young Saroo has seems unfortunately believable. It is a piece of incredible filmmaking that the rest of Lion doesn’t equal.

Dev Patel has some good scenes of emotional dialogue with Kidman and Rooney Mara, playing his supportive girlfriend. Mara is good, as always, but doesn’t have much else to do aside from be supportive. The actors handle these scenes well—Patel and Kidman have picked up Supporting Actor and Actress Oscar nominations, respectively. It is their interactions that keep the audience engaged. This is ultimately an uplifting and heartwarming story and the sentiment doesn’t feel forced. You may feel like you’ve seen this kind of movie before, and I’m sure you have, but Lion is still worth watching.

Nominees: Iain Canning, Angie Fielder, Emile Sherman, producers

Director: Garth Davis

Screenplay: Luke Davies, based on the book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley and Larry Buttrose

Cast: Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara

Production Companies: See-Saw Films, Aquarius Films, Screen Australia, Sunstar Entertainment, The Weinstein Company

Distributor: The Weinstein Company, Transmission Films, Entertainment Film Distributors

Release Date: November 25^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 6, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Adapted Screenplay-Luke Davies, Supporting Actor-Dev Patel, Supporting Actress-Nicole Kidman, Cinematography-Greig Fraser, Original Score-Dustin O'Halloran, Volker Bertelmann

Best Pictures #35: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Arrival

by A.J.

Best Pictures #35: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Arrival

We’ve been lucky enough to have had some excellent science fiction films recently—Interstellar in 2014, and last year’s Best Picture nominee, The Martian in 2015—and Arrival is among them. Those films, like Arrival, are not just fantasies, they are pro-science. The main characters are scientists or science minded people that use available information and resources to solve incredible problems. To borrow a phrase from NASA, they “work the problem.” This is what Amy Adams does as Louise Banks, a world-renowned linguist tasked with figuring out how to communicate with recently arrived alien beings. She doesn’t have much time, as the mysterious alien spaceships have appeared all over the world and world governments are nervous and frantic to figure out why the aliens are here.

You’re likely to be reminded of other science fiction films about “first contact”: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (in which François Truffaut also tries to communicate with aliens), Contact, and The Day the Earth Stood Still to name a few. The alien spaceships might even remind you of the monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The aliens themselves look like creatures from the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. But Arrival is far from derivative; it is the perfect example of what should happen with a new entry to a well tread genre. We’ve seen movies about aliens arriving on Earth before, but we’ve never seen one quite like this.

There are of course visual effects and computer generated images, but this film does not center around effects or spectacle. At the heart of Arrival is an incredible performance by Amy Adams that was inexplicably not nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards. Adams excels at using small facial expressions and her eyes to convey clearly, but quietly what her characters are thinking and experiencing and that’s exactly what she does here. Her performance makes the character of Louise relatable and grounds the entire film in genuine emotion even as it moves into heady sci-fi territory. We have no trouble believing that Louise is the foremost authority on language and are frustrated when military and government officials (played by Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg, respectively) stand in her way or won’t listen to her conclusions. We are with her every step of the way, even if we don’t know what it all means.

Even though Arrival does not go out of its way to simplify or explain itself, it never becomes inaccessible and only becomes more intriguing and entertaining as the story unfolds. Did I understand the intricacies and logic of Arrival’s climax? I think so. Regardless, I understood what was happening well enough to be thoroughly satisfied and moved emotionally. The Oscar nominated cinematography by Bradford Young and score by Johann Johannsson contribute greatly to the movie’s tone and along with skillful direction by Denis Villeneuve, a smart screenplay by Eric Heisserer, and, perhaps most of all, an amazing performance by Amy Adams elevate Arrival from just another science fiction film to something profoundly affecting.

Nominees: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde, producers

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Eric Heisserer, based on the story “The Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang

Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

Production Companies: Lava Bear Films, 21 Laps Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment

Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing

Release Date: November 11^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 8, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director- Denis Villeneuve, Adapted Screenplay-Eric Heisserer, Cinematography-Bradford Young, Editing-Joe Walker, Sound Mixing- Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Claude La Haye, Sound Editing- Sylvain Bellemare, Production Design- Patrice Vermette (production design) Paul Hotte (set decoration)

Best Pictures #34: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Hell or High Water

by A.J.

Best Pictures #34: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Hell or High Water

You can think of Hell or High Water as a modern day western. It certainly has the plot, setting, and characters of a western. We follow a pair of bank robbing brothers and the lawman pursuing them across the dusty landscape of West Texas and the Texas plains. Hell or High Water doesn’t reinvent genre, but it doesn’t need to; it’s executed extremely well.

Chris Pine and Ben Foster play the outlaw brothers, Toby and Tanner, respectively. Pine’s Toby is the quiet, more reserved brother. Foster’s Tanner, recently released from prison, is the more volatile one. There’s more to their plan than just grabbing as much money as they can and going on the run. They have a specific amount to rob from a specific chain of banks, Texas Midlands Bank, which is set to foreclose on the family home. They will pay Texas Midlands Bank with money they robbed from its own branches. Toby wants to make sure that his ex-wife and children will have enough money for a secure future. Tanner wants to help his brother, and if that means robbing banks, he’s completely willing.

Jeff Bridges is the heavy hitter among the cast. It’s good to see Bridges give a great, solid performance in a role that is befitting of an actor of his talent, instead of the cartoonish roles he’s taken in recent movies. That’s not to say that Bridges doesn’t bring a certain amount of flair—or the tough, western man equivalent—to Marcus Hamilton, a surly Texas Ranger on the brink of retirement. He’s smart enough to catch on to the brother’s plan and crafty enough to use patience as his method for capturing them. He’ll figure out which branch they’ll rob next, then sit back and wait for them to mess up. Working with Hamilton is his half-Mexican, half-Native American partner, Alberto, who is the subject of relentless racist teasing from Hamilton. Bridges, however, is adept at portraying Hamilton as a man with an underlying, genuine affection for his partner that he has to mask with sarcasm. Bridges' Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor comes as no surprise.

There’s a lot of great acting in different styles from the leads. Bridges and Foster are ostentatious; Pine is more subdued and pensive. The screenplay by Taylor Sheridan has rightfully received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay; it creates full-fledged characters and successfully divides our sympathy between both cops and criminals. The climatic confrontation is intense and thrilling. It’s an action sequence the film earns by firmly establishing what’s at stake and building the characters. I wanted Toby and Tanner to get away as much as I wanted Hamilton to catch them. British director David Mackenzie seems to be the perfect fit for this modern day western. He doesn’t mythologize or glorify the setting or the characters. These are everyday people dealing with extraordinary circumstances and the final result is an extraordinary film.

Nominees: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn, producers

Director: David Mackenzie

Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster

Production Companies: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, OddLot Entertainment, Film 44, LBI Entertainment

Distributor: CBS Films, Lionsgate

Release Date: August 12^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 4, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Original Screenplay-Taylor Sheridan, Supporting Actor-Jeff Bridges, Editing-Jake Roberts

Best Pictures #33: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, La La Land

by A.J.

Best Pictures #33: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee
La La Land

La La Land is one of best reviewed, most lauded, and most loved movies of 2016. It has already won several awards and is very likely to win more. It received 14 Oscar nominations, tying the record set by All About Eve (1950), though All About Eve’s 14 nominations was done with fewer categories, which seems slightly more impressive. La La Land is the front runner to take home the Best Picture Oscar. Let’s get one thing straight: I like La La Land. I might even really like it, but I did not love it, at least not the way everyone else did. 

The plot is simple enough: Struggling jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) meets and falls for aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone). Together they sing and dance through some of the loveliest scenes of Los Angeles on film. This is a side of L.A. not often seen movies. The center of American filmmaking is most often the setting of action and crime movies or it is meant to be a nonintrusive background. In La La Land, Los Angeles is stylized and romanticized. It is a city of purple sunsets, cool, blue nights, and hills and canyons and highways for song and dance numbers. I would not say that Los Angeles is a character because sets aren’t characters, but it is at the forefront of La La Land.

It’s no surprise that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have good chemistry; this is their third movie together after all. Each does a fine job in their respective roles. They sing and dance well enough, though they sing and dance like nonprofessionals that have been taught specific, not too challenging choreography. Each has a signature song: Sebastian has the melancholy “City of Stars” and Mia’s “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” serves as the film’s climax. Both songs have been nominated for the Original Song Oscar.

La La Land takes place in a daydream world and writer-director Damien Chazelle seeks to transport the audience to this wonderful musical world. He succeeds, to a point. La La Land is meant to be a loving, enthusiastic tribute to the musicals of the 1950’s and 40’s. The misstep it makes is this: instead of taking inspiration from the great musicals of the past to create a new, fresh take, it simply lifts from and imitates those films instead. Action and science fiction are the genres most often criticized for being derivative, but musicals can be derivative too. There are numerous visual references to other musicals (enough for a side by side video comparison). Some are indirect: the bold, bright color pallet of costumes and sets is reminiscent of the musicals of Jacques Demy. Others are more direct: Gosling jumps up on a lamppost just like Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain. Unfortunately, since I’ve already seen most of the movies La La Land references (Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherourg, Young Girls of Rochefort; Fred Astaire musicals: Shall We Dance, The Band Wagon, Funny Face; and, most of all, Singin’ in the Rain, An American in Paris, and every other Gene Kelly musical), subtly and not so subtly, it comes off less as a tribute and more as a hollow imitation.

There’s a lot to like in La La Land. It’s a nice story about aspiring performers falling in love and trying to achieve their dreams. From the pink and purple sunsets to Stone’s bright, yellow dress, La La Land is filled with bold and vibrant solid colors that cannot help but catch the eye. The songs are pleasant and enjoyable, even if you don’t like jazz (and I don’t). Some of the musicals numbers are very visually appealing—I’m thinking of Sebastian and Mia’s dance at the observatory specifically—but others never open up to be as grand as I was expecting. The opening number plays like generic tableau of what someone that hasn’t seen a musical thinks a musical is like. I suppose I just can’t help but be reminded of the classic musicals with undeniably better performers and songs and wonder why I’m not just watching one of those again. I didn’t get the feeling of unabashed joy and love and wonder that I get whenever I watch Truffaut’s Day For Night, Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain, or even Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (all about performers in the entertainment business). But still, I enjoyed this movie.

Nominees: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt, producers

Director: Damien Chazelle

Screenplay: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend

Production Companies: Black Label Media, TIK Films Limited, Impostor Pictures, Gilbert Films, Marc Platt Productions

Distributor: Summit Entertainment

Release Date: December 9^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 14, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-Damien Chazelle, Screenplay-Damien Chazelle, Actor-Ryan Gosling, Actress-Emma Stone, Cinematography-Linus Sandgren, Editing-Tom Cross, Costume Design-Mary Zophres, Production Design- David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (set decoration), Sound Editing- Ai Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou, Sound Mixing- Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, Steven Morrow, Original Score-Justin Hurwitz, Original Song-Audition (The Fools Who Dream): music by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Original Song-City of Stars: music by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

Best Pictures #32: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Moonlight

by A.J.

Best Pictures #32: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Moonlight

You could call Moonlight a black coming of age movie. You could also call it a gay coming of age movie. Both statements would be true, but they would greatly reduce the substance of Moonlight and underestimate what it has to offer. Moonlight is about as far from an afterschool special as you could get. It is glimpse at a life and a world not often dramatized, or usually not dramatized well, that moves past expected clichés with ease and becomes an affecting work of art.

Moonlight is a film in three chapters. Each has a different actor portray the main character, Chiron, at different but important times in his life. In the first chapter titled “Little,” Chiron is a young boy being chased by bullies calling him “f*ggot.” He finds refuge not at home with his mother, but, in an abandoned apartment. It is there he meets Juan, a kind and benevolent man that gives the shy, quiet boy a meal and becomes a mentor and father figure to Chiron. It may seem a paradox that Juan, who is a decent man, is also the neighborhood drug boss and sells drugs to Chiron’s mother, but Chiron’s world is a confusing world. Juan’s time with Chiron is brief but greatly affecting and memorable. So, is Mahershala Ali’s performance, for which he has received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actor.

The other two chapters, “Chiron” and “Black” show us Chiron’s teenage and adult life. Big chunks of time during which major events occur in his life are skipped between chapters. Other movies would have focused on these skipped moments but director Barry Jenkins prefers to suggest rather than show. It’s the right choice for this film. Chiron is a withdrawn, quiet person and his story is one of slow, quiet realization.

I’ve read at least one review that has used the phrase “cinematic poetry” to describe Moonlight. I wouldn’t use that exact phrase, though there is something poetic about the title of play Moonlight is based on, “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” The cinematography by James Laxton and the score by Nicholas Britell, orchestral and haunting, are a perfect moody match and both have received Oscar nominations. Moonlight is certainly an art film, but it is gentle, unpretentious, and dreamlike experience.

Nominee: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski, producers

Director: Barry Jenkins

Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, story by Tarell Alvin McCraney, based the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Cast: Trevante Rhodes, Andre Holland, Mahershala Ali

Production Companies: A24, Plan B Entertainment, Pastel Productions

Distributor: A24

Release Date: October 21^st, 2016
Total Nominations: 8, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-Barry Jenkins, Adapted Screenplay- Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Supporting Actor-Mahershala Ali, Supporting Actress-Naomie Harris, Cinematography-James Laxton, Editing- Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders, Original Score-Nicholas Britell

Best Pictures #31: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Manchester by the Sea

by A.J.

Best Pictures #31: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Manchester by the Sea

It’s not difficult to understand why Manchester by the Sea is a hard sell to casual moviegoers (even I had not planned on seeing this movie until it earned more and more awards recognition, including six Academy Award nominations). It is the story of a withdrawn and somber man, Lee (Casey Affleck), who has to go back to his home town after the death of his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), to look after his nephew, Patrick, and must deal with memories of a past tragedy. Some critics, in an effort to coax reluctant moviegoers to see what seems like a rather gloomy drama, have talked up Manchester by the Sea as being surprisingly funny. This is not untrue, but people shouldn’t go into this movie expecting a dark comedy. Any humor in Manchester by the Sea comes across as incidental, as though it slipped in by accident in spite of the heavy subject matter. Those comedic moments feel real and that is one area in which this movie excels. When Patrick, played by Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges, tells his uncle that his girlfriend is going to spend the night, there is a long awkward pause before Lee responds with, “Am I supposed to tell you to use a condom?” Lee is not up for the role of legal guardian and he knows it.

Casey Affleck’s low key and incredible performance is the centerpiece of Manchester by the Sea and has made him the frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar. Lee is a relatively silent character. He pushes down his emotions but never escapes them. Returning to his hometown of Manchester by the Sea is an unhappy prospect. Being named legal guardian of his nephew in his brother’s will is another unhappy prospect. It’s not that Lee doesn’t care about his nephew, flashbacks show that he has affection for Patrick and had no problem expressing it, but that was before Lee suffered the devastating tragedy that still looms over his every waking moment. None of the reviews I read for Manchester by the Sea state what that tragedy is, so I won’t either, but it becomes quite clear early on in the movie.

Writer-director Kenneth Lonergan has directed two other films (You Can Count on Me and Margaret), but his background is as a playwright. While Margaret was loaded with big emotions and big showy performances, everything about Manchester by the Sea feels subdued. The one notable exception is when we finally get the flashback of the tragedy in Lee’s past; the reveal is almost operatic (it’s worth noting that Margaret ended at an opera). As the film goes on and Lee spends more time back in Manchester, the film starts to feel episodic and starts to drag. It’s not that scenes go on for too long, there are just too many of them (the first scene I would cut is Lonergan’s extended cameo). Lonergan, who picked up Oscar nominations for Director and Original Screenplay, hasn’t given us a play written for the screen. Scenes are not limited to one or two sets, he really opens up the world of these characters making Manchester by the Sea (a town with an improbable name) feel like a real town populated by real people.

Manchester by the Sea’s premise is a simple one: at worst, it is fodder for a cheesy Hallmark Channel movie, at its best it is a portrait of a man dealing with grief and emotional pain on a day to day basis who slowly finds his footing again. Things don’t wrap up with a nice bow, but they end as best they could for these characters. It’s a satisfying conclusion to everything we’ve just seen. Yes, Manchester by the Sea deals with tragic events and a dour character, but if you’re looking for a film that will leave you feeling despondent and depressed you’ll have to find another movie.

Nominees: Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Kevin J. Walsh, producers
Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan

Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler

Production Companies: K Period Media, B Story, CMP, Pearl Street Films

Distributor: Roadside Attractions, Amazon Studios

Release Date: November 18^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 6, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Director-Kenneth Lonergan, Original Screenplay-Kenneth Lonergan, Actor-Casey Affleck, Supporting Actress-Michelle Williams, Supporting Actor-Lucas Hedges

Best Pictures #30: 2016 (89th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee, Fences

by A.J.

Best Pictures #30: 2016 (89^th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Fences

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—and it 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 16^th, 2016

Total Nominations: 4, including Best Picture
Other Nominations: Actor-Denzel Washington, Supporting Actress-Viola Davis, Adapted Screenplay-August Wilson