[yasr_overall_rating]
An African-American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life.
Denzel Washington stars and directs this film which was originally created for the stage, not the screen. From stage to screen limits the backgrounds, otherwise, the adaptation is as honest as it is enjoyable. I expected a movie focused on race and was surprised to find this aspect as only an underlying condition instead of a focal point. The short cast list, including the incredible Viola Davis, shines with knowable characters and strong acting.
Troy Maxson collects trash by day and wallows in self-pity by night. His first presence on the screen introduces the audience to his more congenial side. He jokes and laughs away his troubles with his long-time best friend Bono and wife Rose. His darker side enters when his eldest son, Lyon, comes over to borrow money for his musician existence. Rose, is more than willing to call her husband out when he exaggerates much to the amusement of their small group of family and friends. Gabe, Troy’s brother, highlights the tragedy of the effects the war still has even years after the end of Hilter’s reign. Left with a metal plate in his head, Gabe is in constant trouble for obstructing the peace as his injuries have returned him to a child like youth.
In their tiny backyard, the lives of this family play out in all the pain and sorrow of living paycheck to paycheck with little left to enjoy in life. Determined to build a fence, which serves as a multi-faceted metaphor, Troy tells his family of the blockades the past has presented him in life. His father fell off his very short pedestal when Troy was just 14 years old leaving him to search for his own life. He stole to live and spent a stint of 15 years in prison before stumbling upon Rose and starting a family. With a wife and son to feed, Troy worked day in and day out with Bono collecting trash from the back of a truck. Despite his illiteracy, he manages to become the first black trash collector to become a truck driver. This small triumph fails to satisfy his need for a bigger life for long.
Remembering his days as a professional baseball player and their abrupt end because of his race and age, he refuses to allow his teenage son to follow his passion for football. Corey, the son, is chronically scared of his father’s presence, but now he is angry and turns to downright defiance to cope with this tyrant in his life. Before long, the father and son have created a rift to large to wade through. Corey leaves much to his mother’s dismay. Rose, the perfect wife, has stood by her man through every hard time. She has laid aside her own desires as her husband’s voice has always been louder and his complaints more outspoken. When Troy announces he has impregnated his lover, this strong woman pushes past the pain to stand by her man’s side. This is where the dice fall and life is forever changed by a tragic death and a new life. The demons that have so often come to haunt Troy are far from gone as he refuses to make intelligent decisions for the greater good of those he loves. This selfish man finds himself losing everyone he cares for before death knocks on his door.
“Fences” is a powerful film about the choices one man makes and the impact those choices have on everyone in his life. The dialogue and comradery between Troy, Rose, and Bono lull you into a false sense of joviality. While constantly flirting with his wife, Troy seeks to force himself to be more in love than he is, while looking outside of his marriage to end the pain of a hard life and little joy. Determined not to become his father, Troy becomes and even worse nightmare for his own children as he is incapable of bonding and even truly loving their presence in his life. The only person in his life who is not a burden is Bono, who he manages to push away with his bad choices and walk down a dark, lonely street.
At first, with the light and witty banter, the conflict of this movie seems to have come years before. As the film progresses the conflict rears its ugly head as Troy becomes two people, one heavy with burden and one determined to show a contented face with a sip of gin. God and his nemesis play a constant foreshadow through both Troy and Gabe, the latter determined he has been commissioned to herald in the judgment by Saint Peter with an actual trumpet. Each character manages to take a role meant for stage and transform the character into a fully dimensional person. Denzel never lets down, but in this performance, he shines in his dark portrayal of an ordinary man stuck with the demons he welcomed with open arms. Definitely a must see film despite the length of over two hours.
In theaters Sunday, December 25th
