Denzel Washington is about as charismatic an actor I have seen in my time. The man’s presence hangs over every film he is in, and no matter the rest of the cast, Washington will always stand out. Fences is the best example of how riveting Washington can be by himself. That’s right. Amongst Training Day, Glory, and Malcom X and many other sterling performances, Washington, with a strong assist from Viola Davis, makes Fences riveting by simply conversing as himself.
Troy Maxson (Washington) is getting by in 1950s Brooklyn. Though not rich, he holds a steady job with chances for some minor advancement. He’s married to a beautiful wife, Rose (Davis) who holds the fort down at home as his partner in crime. She’s raising a son, Cory (Jovan Adepo), as well as helping Troy take care of his other son from another marriage Lyons (Russell Hornsby) and Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson), Troy’s brother who was injured in WWII. Turns out Cory excels at sports the way Troy did; however, Troy is VERY wary of Cory using his talents to go to school, projecting his personal failures onto his son. This puts Troy at odds with Cory and also Rose, who thinks this scholarship can help him get ahead.
Washington directed Fences as well as starring in it (he also starred in the Broadway play it is based upon). He directs Fences mostly like the play; much of the staging is in backyards or living rooms. Most of these choices fit the story well; Troy feels trapped most of the time. The little expansion comes from his brother Gabriel because of his importance to Troy. Washington rightly focuses on the main family with most of the running time, but other than a kind neighbor (Stephen Henderson), we get no sense of the outside world’s affect on Troy other than what he chooses to say. This limits the scope of the story, raising the emotional stakes, but decreasing the potency of connecting Troy to the greater societal issues at the time.
But Washington is more interested in Fences as a character study. He clearly loves this material with his portrayal of a man who feels trapped in his own house and by forces around him. From minute one, Washington opens his mouth, and never shuts up. Normally one character in a monologue in a movie becomes grating, but not so with Denzel. He must have been a preacher in his past life, because as Troy he speaks as if he’s blessed with sacred words he must spread to the masses. Washington has never been more charismatic, conflicted, and interesting as he is in fences, like an old rabid dog worried to be set loose. Not many other actors could stand alongside a force like Denzel, but Viola Davis can take it and dish it as well as him. Davis spends much of the first half of the movie reacting, but as circumstances require her to speak more, she starts exuding force and complicated feelings herself. I’ve loved Davis for a while now, and Fences adds another amazing piece of work to her sterling resume (dead last: Suicide Squad). Stephen Henderson, Mykelti Williamson, and Jovan Adepo are solid, trying to hold their own against those two acting behemoths.
If you see Fences on the big screen, you’re not going for the special effects. You’re seeing it big to fit the talents of Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Fences may keep Troy and Rose Maxson contained, but Denzel Washington and Viola Davis could not be so easily encapsulated. Remember the Titans? Or the Help? The lie is that you thought you had them contained.