Fences

Dir: Denzel Washington

2016

****

The cinematic adaptation of August Wilson’s play Fences was a long time coming. Wilson had worked on a screenplay for many years and finally finished just before he died in 2005. His play was a hit when it was released in 1985 and again in 2010 when it enjoyed a successful revival. Wilson had always stated that if it were to be developed into a film then he wanted an African-American to direct it and he finally got his wish in the form of Denzel Washington. Washington knew the play backwards, as he played the main character in the 2010 revival. He decided to bring back the entire cast from 2010 for the film and the results speak for themselves. Fences was written in 1983 and was the sixth story in Wilson’s ten-part ‘Pittsburgh Cycle’ that were a collection of stories that dealt with race relations and the ever-evolving African-American experiences of families and individuals in the 1950s. I’ve seen clips of the 1985 and 2010 productions online and I wish I had been able to see them in real life. It is clear when watching that it is a piece of theatre, a wonderful one at that, but then so it comes with an age-old issue that such adaptations have. It doesn’t quite have that cinematic feel that convinced you that you aren’t watching something that was meant to be seen in a different format but at the same time it is too cinematic to capture the true intensity that only a theatrical production can deliver. However, you can pretty much forget all of that because the performances are of the highest quality. Denzel Washington couldn’t have been more perfect for the roles of lead character or director. Viola Davis is as equally perfect and the rest of the 2010 cast join them and bring the story to life beautifully. Screenwriter and playwright Tony Kushner was asked to build on Wilson’s screenplay but was not credited as writer, only executive producer. Producer Todd Black explained that Washington insisted that they remain faithful to Wilson's work, saying, "The star of the movie is the screenplay and August Wilson's words. What Denzel said to me, to Scott, to all the actors, the cinematographer, and the production designer was, 'Don't make any decision without August Wilson's words leading you to make that decision.' Whatever you do, let the words inform your decision first. That's what we all had to abide by." The script is perfect and the performances match. There are only three or four locations throughout the entire film and yet I felt as if I really knew these people and their lives, although their characters are built on and stripped away scene by scene. There is so much going here, so many emotions and so much raw tension, it’s impossible not to be transfixed throughout. I didn’t care much for the conclusion in many respects but it worked rather well for the type of story. There is a lot of harsh truth in the story that is respected but told with a bold and forthright dignity, it’s meant to provoke in many respects but is very easy to understand and relate to. I would argue that you don’t have to be an African-American who grew up in the 50s to totally understand it, as many of the characters are familiar to all walks of life, of different ages, from different places. However, as universal as it is, Fences is a bonafide American classic.