Directed by Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher; The Great Debaters) and starring Denzel Washington (Training Day; Glory; Cry Freedom; Malcolm X; The Book of Eli; The Manchurian Candidate), Viola Davis (The Help; Prisoners; Ender's Game; The Architect), Stephen Henderson (Manchester by the Sea; Lincoln), Jovan Adepo (in his first feature film) and Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump; Lucky Number Slevin; Con Air).
Drama, 139 mins, 6+
Based on the stage play by August Wilson, who also wrote the screenplay, Fences tells the story of Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) and his family, growing up in a Californian town. He appears to be hard-working with traditional values but, as the storyline evolves, his background is revealed bit by bit.
While the story starts off with Troy and his friend Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson) working on the city's garbage trucks, it is set mainly in the back yard of Troy's house, where he is slowly erecting a fence - one of the characters' lines during the film is to ask if the fence is to keep people in or to keep people out.
Strong on narrative, the film drills deep into the personalities of the characters, primarily the family patriarch Troy Maxson, with his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and sons Cory (Jovan Adepo) and Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson). Gabriel has left home and is a musician, but drops round to his father on payday to borrow some money, while Cory is still in school and wants to be a professional football player. The audience starts to learn that all may not be what it seems, with Troy trying to give his children the best in life, based on what he never had as a child, not unlike many parents.
Set in the mid 20th century, the film explores the values of the working class at that time and develops the characters, the main strength of the film. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis work incredibly well as a team, both delivering strong and gritty performances.
