In Fences, Denzel Washington's cinematic adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Winning play, the scenes play out just as they would on stage: they're long, without many close-ups, and the protagonist, Troy Maxson (Washington) talks a whole lot and uses pretty articulate vocabulary for a man who can't read or write (but we won't be getting into that). Like a mean grand stage patriarch, Troy is a bully to his son Cory (Jovan Adepo) and wants to discourage his son from potentially attending college by making him quit the football team, because Troy had once upon a time failed as a potential MLB athlete, and clearly doesn't want his offspring to succeed where he hasn't. The real emotional weight of burden here belongs to Troy's wife, Rose (Viola Davis), who has clearly been used and mentally abused by her two-timing, overly controlling husband over the years. I hope that this role finally gets Davis the Oscar she so clearly deserves as one of the finest American actresses. The movie is not as grand as it claims to be, and in a season filled with exciting sci-fi action, rebirth of Hollywood musicals and superb Disney/Pixar animation, Fences drags just a bit in its third act, which feels as if it will last forever (also, the film's dramatic energy is absent whenever Washington's Troy's Maxson isn't on screen). Still, it's a solid ensemble piece from everyone, and a good directing effort from its superstar.
B
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