Fences
Two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington directs and stars in this drama about a struggling father raising a family in racially-intolerant 1950s America.
Based on the Pulitzer-winning play by August Wilson, who adapts his own stageplay for screen. Co-stars Viola Davis (The Help), a two-time Oscar nominee before making history as the first black woman to be nominated three times - in the running for Best Supporting Actress as Rose Lee Maxson, the wife of Washington's character.
- Director:
- Denzel Washington ('The Great Debaters', 'Antwone Fisher')
- Writer:
- August Wilson
- Cast:
- Denzel WashingtonViola DavisJovan AdepoStephen McKinley HendersonRussell HornsbyMykelti WilliamsonSaniyya Sydney
Reviews & comments
Variety
pressAs you watch "Fences," there's never a doubt that these lives matter, and that's a good and noble thing, but you're also aware (maybe too aware) of how much the movie itself wants to matter.
Time Out
pressWashington's performance - as big as it gets - is all wrong for the movies, where even a self-aggrandising character like Troy Maxson, a former Negro Leagues star ballplayer turned '50s Pittsburgh garbageman, needs to be scaled back to feel realistic.
The New York Times
pressEven as it properly foregrounds Wilson's dialogue - few playwrights have approached his genius for turning workaday vernacular into poetry - "Fences" is much more than a filmed reading.
The Guardian
pressThis film is conceived as a showcase for its performers, and, as that, it is immaculate.
Stuff
pressPerceptive portrait of human complexity, impeccably acted by its small cast...
Los Angeles Times
pressThe combination of top acting and the powerful rhythm of the language in the drama's celebrated high spots absolutely holds us.
Hollywood Reporter
pressOffers enough dramatic meat, boisterous humour and lived-in performances to hook audiences of all stripes.
Empire Magazine
pressA simply extraordinary film without crashes, bangs and wallops but full of towering performances delivered with intelligence, power and heart.
The cinema year gone by was extraordinary for the richness of offerings centred on the African-American experience. Several of these films share a world once fenced off, notably Moonlight (2016), Loving (2016), and Hidden Figures (2016). The quality of these films is remarkable and they reflect wider cultural changes that have been underway for some time....
Variety
pressAs you watch "Fences," there's never a doubt that these lives matter, and that's a good and noble thing, but you're also aware (maybe too aware) of how much the movie itself wants to matter.
Time Out
pressWashington's performance - as big as it gets - is all wrong for the movies, where even a self-aggrandising character like Troy Maxson, a former Negro Leagues star ballplayer turned '50s Pittsburgh garbageman, needs to be scaled back to feel realistic.
The New York Times
pressEven as it properly foregrounds Wilson's dialogue - few playwrights have approached his genius for turning workaday vernacular into poetry - "Fences" is much more than a filmed reading.
The Guardian
pressThis film is conceived as a showcase for its performers, and, as that, it is immaculate.
Stuff
pressPerceptive portrait of human complexity, impeccably acted by its small cast...
Los Angeles Times
pressThe combination of top acting and the powerful rhythm of the language in the drama's celebrated high spots absolutely holds us.
Hollywood Reporter
pressOffers enough dramatic meat, boisterous humour and lived-in performances to hook audiences of all stripes.
Empire Magazine
pressA simply extraordinary film without crashes, bangs and wallops but full of towering performances delivered with intelligence, power and heart.
The cinema year gone by was extraordinary for the richness of offerings centred on the African-American experience. Several of these films share a world once fenced off, notably Moonlight (2016), Loving (2016), and Hidden Figures (2016). The quality of these films is remarkable and they reflect wider cultural changes that have been underway for some time....
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