Fences (2016)
3:26 PM
Acting
Fences is directed by and stars Denzel Washington (Flight,
Training Day). Alongside Washington is the Oscar winning Viola Davis (Suicide
Squad, How to Get Away with Murder). "A working-class African-American father tries to
raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his
life". Fences was a successful play and now it has been transferred to the
silver screen - will it work as a film? did it deserve those 4 Oscar
nominations?
Fences
is definitely a film that is carried by its performances which are incredibly
strong. However, this doesn’t stop Fences from being a testing watch – it is
tediously long with no real story or narrative and a very slow pace. However,
Fences is once again a refreshing watch this awards season as a few years ago,
we were unable to watch films about characters like this. It’s definitely
well-made and of a good quality, I just don’t know if I could recommend it to
the mainstream audience – this is absolutely a film for cinefiles, fans of the
play and budding actors – It doesn’t have much appeal outside of that.
I’m
going to start with where this film is the strongest – the performances. And I’m
going to start with dedicating a whole section of this review to a woman who utterly
deserves it – Viola Davis. I left the cinema astounded by Davis’ performance –
she was superb. I must say, her performance is one of the best performances I
have ever witnessed on-screen and I think out of all the actor winners this
year, she is definitely the most deserving. Davis was good throughout the film
but she stepped into superior territory when her character, Rose, finds out
that Washington’s character has had a child with another woman – I felt
speechless once the scene had finished. You have likely seen the clips – Davis gives
a performance filled with rage, tears, anger, shock and…snot. I whole-heartedly
believed that Davis had become Rose and I was convinced by every word she
spoke. I think Davis’s performance here will be studied by acting hopefuls in
years to come – I would go as far as saying this scene is iconic, I just wish
more people would see it! Viola Davis is enough to pay to see Fences – she carries
the film, definitely outshines Washington and is simply brilliant.
I don’t
feel as strongly towards Denzel Washington’s performance and I am pleased the
Oscar went to Affleck over Washington. This film may be Washington’s baby and
he certainly did a good job. However, he didn’t have a wow moments – I can’t really
recall a moment in the film where I was blown away by him. I don’t know whether
this is because his character is actually quite unlikeable or because Davis was
up in the clouds and Washington was kind of on Earth.
There
isn’t really a plot to Fences – it’s just a glimpse of life. On one hand, I
like this because it takes film back to its original purpose of just capturing
life but on the other hand, it made the almost 150-minute film really drag on –
it didn’t really go anywhere. There were some curveballs towards the end of the
film that did add some drama and increase the pace. Some of the dialogue in
Fences did have some poignant messages to it – there was some interesting
commentary on racism. However, what I liked was that this wasn’t a film about
racism – it solely just showed the life of a black family which was good to
see. Both this, Hidden Figures and Moonlight are important films because they
break the usual mould of a ‘black’ awards film – they aren’t about slavery or
the civil rights movement, they show black Americans in a new type of light.
Just like white Americans get all sorts of stories told, black Americans are
starting to as well which is great to see. However, Fences is still a very
heavy film that I think will be a struggle to get through for most audiences.
Fences
is a solid film that would be nowhere near as good if it wasn’t for the
incredible performance from Davis and the strong performance from Washington. Yes,
there isn’t really a narrative and there is lots and lots of talking and
basically no change of scenery, but it was refreshing to see film go back to a
more simpler form. Fences is important but won’t be for everyone – it’s heavy
and there is a lot to take in. The film requires your full attention for the
best effect. This definitely is an acting showcase – Davis and Washington both
do a great job.
69
/100
What did you think of FENCES? Were you blown away by the performances? - COMMENT BELOW
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