The Amazing Acting in FENCES Will Blow You Away
Unfortunately, I'm not going to have time to write a full review of Fences, the latest directorial effort from Denzel Washington, but let me take this opportunity to try to convince you all to go see it anyway.
Fences is packed with powerhouse performances — not only from Washington, who also stars in the movie, but from Viola Davis as well. They're both so awe-inspiringly good here, I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised to see either of them win an Oscar for their work. The two actors actually portrayed the same characters on Broadway in the stage adaptation, so by the time the cameras rolled on the movie version, they were intimately familiar with what needed to be done to make it soar on screen. The dialogue is pretty non-stop, and the story isn't afraid to go to some dark, tough places; Washington and Davis navigate it all like champions.
It's a story about everything, really: trust, missed opportunities, masculinity, loyalty, loss, abuse, pride, sacrifice, and what I'd like to call "generationalism" — the effects of a larger-than-life parent on his offspring. It's real as hell, and it's the kind of film that might ring a little too true or hit a bit too close to home for some people, but it's a beautiful piece of work that deserves to be seen far and wide. Paramount has released two new clips from the movie which I'll share below, but you needn't look further than the trailer to be convinced to seek this one out as soon as you can. Fences is playing in Los Angeles right now, and debuts nationwide on Christmas Day.