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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
What is the definition of a fence? You know that thing that goes around your yard or property. Websters states that a fence is a “barrier, railing, or other upright structure, typically of wood or wire, enclosing an area of ground to mark a boundary, control access, or prevent escape.” Well, a fence can be around a person’s heart and emotions. I like to call them walls, but a fence will also work. Well, Denzel is back with his third turn as a director with the 1985 play Fences, in which he and Viola Davis starred in on the Broadway revival. We all know how much I love Denzel because King Kong ain’t got shit on him! Fences is a powerful film where one man’s views weigh on his family.
Starring, produced, and directed by Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1985 play of the same name, Fences focuses on the life of a man who is angry at the world. In the mid-1950s, in the steel city of Pittsburgh, Troy Maxson (Washington) is a sanitation worker, working a shift with his best friend Jim Bono (Henderson). Troy lives with his happily married wife Rose (Davis) of 18 years and their teenage son Cory (Adepo). Troy comes home on payday and talks about how he whipped death along with his work for the day. Troy’s 34-year-old son, Lyons (Hornsby), seems to pop in on payday to ask to borrow money which makes Troy angry, and he thinks a man should provide for his family on his own two feet. Also, part of the family is Troy’s younger brother Gabe (Williamson), who suffered brain damage while fighting in WW2. Troy had a hard childhood where he beat his abusive father before running off and doing odd jobs before going to prison for robbery and murder. Once he got out, Troy was a baseball star in the late-1930s, playing in the Negro League. He bears an intense grudge for his not being able to play Major League Baseball. He displays this grudge and other feelings towards his family, particularly Cory, who has the opportunity to be a football star. Troy sees no hope in this and becomes a prominent figure in everyone’s lives with his decisions.
I wondered how one man could have so much hatred towards the world and his son when watching the film. A part of me wanted to sympathize with Troy because he is a black man in America, where racism is rampant, along with him being a garbage man. His dreams of being a Major League Player were dashed because of his age. He seems to have so much resentment towards the world he lives in. Everywhere he turns isn’t what he might have dreamed he wanted. He complains most of the time about putting up a fence with his son, but the accurate analogy is that the fence he complains about is the one that is around him and his family.
The start of the film shows how much Troy dislikes his world as his friend Bono comes home after a hard day of work. From the get-go, he complains about everything from being treated to how his oldest son, Lyons, always comes around on payday to borrow money from his pocket. His younger brother, Gabriel, sustained a head injury in World War II that left him mentally impaired. He causes some trouble when he walks down the street, but he also moved out of the house where Troy relied on some of his pension. Even with his loving wife, after years and years of being put down, there is a major fence around Troy. He thinks his way is the best way, and no one else can convince him otherwise, which causes a major rift with his son.
A central fence in this movie is between Troy and his other son, Cory. Cory is being scouted by a college football team, but Troy remembering how he missed his chance and was thrown away, is very dismissive of Cory making it at all. Troy would rather have Cory work at the A&P to bring in money, while Cory states he doesn’t have time with practice and school. Troy forces his way and loses it when Cory doesn’t report for his job. A genuinely telling scene is when Cory asks Troy if he likes him. Troy goes on this epic speech about how he doesn’t have to like him. The only duty he has is to provide for him and make sure he survives, but overall, he doesn’t have to like him. Having a father tell you that has to be soul-crushing.
Also, Troy sets up many of the fences he has in his life with his own decisions. For one, he has a loving wife in Rose, who gave him everything, and yet, he goes out and has an affair with Alberta and gets her pregnant. When Troy tells Rose, he tries to do some weak-ass explanation, but Rose puts up a fence between them and their marriage. When Alberta has her baby but dies, Rose rises to the occasion and states that Troy will never see her bed, but she will raise the baby like her own.
As far as the cast goes, Denzel Washington carried this film as Troy. Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors ever to walk this earth, and he is truly at his A-game in this film. As Troy, he is relentless in his anger and disappointment with the world. He tells stories with his friend Bono but explains that life has been tough on him from a young age. Troy speaks his mind even when he is wrong and lets it be known that he isn’t happy. Hell, he even complained about his company, which allowed him to drive the truck. Denzel also played double duty with being the film’s director. In his third attempt, Washington is really starting to find his form as a terrific director.
Now on the other side is the one and only and truly lovely Viola Davis. Davis as Rose is powerful when she is on screen. She is quiet and submissive in her life but a loving wife and mother. The one thing that Davis did when Rose flipped out was bring out that oh so ugly cry. We have all seen the ugly cry. Tears running down your face, snot coming out of your nose, and you can hardly speak. The ugly cry is an effective award-winning technique. Bravo to Davis for winning the Academy Award for her role.
Besides being a phenomenal movie with powerful performances, the one area that seemed to bring this film down is the transitions. It didn’t feel like it flowed as one fluent movie. You could tell it was taken from a play, and it seemed to be segmented into different acts. I don’t know if Washington meant for this to happen, but it messed up the flow for me. Like I said, it is only a minor thing.
Fences is a powerful film that shows how one person’s life can have a major impact on those around them. How when one person’s dream is crushed, the hatred that is shaped and developed can carry on to the future and put a fence around those they care about. Denzel Washington is as powerful as ever, and Viola Davis needs to be given a standing ovation for her performance. Sometimes it is best to put down the walls and fences and let the world grow around you.
