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Denzel Washington and Viola Davis triumph in an overly theatrical version of August Wilson's Fences |
Fences follows a couple of years (with a coda that
jumps forward five years) in the lives of these characters, and principally the
impact that Troy’s mixture of pride, selfishness and bull-headed self-righteousness
has on the family. It’s adapted from August Wilson’s award-winning stage-play,
with a script prepared before his death by the playwright himself (earning him
a posthumous Oscar nomination). Washington, Davis and most of the cast all
starred in a hugely successful Broadway production of the play a few years
before, and the film is a careful restaging of this production.
Perhaps a little too careful. If there is a problem with Fences,
it is that it falls rather awkwardly between two stools. It’s neither
particularly filmic – few of the scenes have been adjusted from the single-set
locations of the play, and it’s filmed with an unobtrusive conventionality that
makes it look and feel pretty similar to watching a National Theatre Live
production – nor is it sufficiently theatrical. I can well imagine the power –
and they are undeniably powerful – performances by the cast, principally
Washington and Davis, would have blown you away live: but on screen, they can’t
quite capture that same impact, in a film that feels slightly constrained by its
theatricality.
Most of this comes from Washington’s determination that
Wilson’s words would be the star, and all other factors in the production would
service that. To that end, the film is a clear success – and you can’t argue Wilson
doesn’t deserve a certain reverence, particularly as transfers of his plays to
film had been almost non-existent before Fences. Wilson’s plays have rarely
crossed the Atlantic, so watching this – a play I was not familiar with – I was
enraptured by the working-class poetry of Wilson’s language, not to mention the
empathy with which he explores his characters.
At the heart is Troy, a fascinatingly flawed human being.
Played with huge charisma, which masks a deep bitterness, cynicism and
self-pity, by Denzel Washington, Troy manages to be both admirable and
destructive at the same time. You can’t not admire the way he has built his own
life from scratch, or the “go-out-and-grab-it” balls that helps him become the
first black garbage truck driver in Pittsburgh. He’s witty, warm-hearted and
loves his family deeply. He’s also domineering, proud and so convinced his view
is right that he sees no problem with cheating on his wife or forcing his
children, often against their will, to conform with exactly his ideas of how
they should live their lives.
So, he’ll tell his son that because Troy’s dreams of
becoming a professional sportsman came to nothing, so will his: so there isn’t
even any point trying. He loves his mentally handicapped brother Gabe (Mykelti
Williamson), and rages at the Government that failed to support this wounded
veteran – but he also takes Gabe’s disability payout and uses it to buy himself
a house and charge Gabe rent for living in it. He’ll talk endlessly about
putting duty and family first – but that fence of the title, which Rose asks
constantly him to build, is a job he’ll put off time and time again in favour
of holding court in his backyard. Troy’s built the family – but he’s also the
main factor holding it back from moving forward any further. He’s a classic
tragic figure.
Equally superb is Viola Davis as Rose, endlessly patient and
caring, holding the entire family together and quietly and carefully cleaning up
after Troy’s outbursts or bad temper. Davis won the Oscar, and Rose is a dream
of a part a woman who closes her eyes to problems, believing she lives a
perfect family life, until it is too late. When finally confronted with the
selfishness of Troy’s actions, Davis’ emotional devastation – her resentment
and fury at having benched her own dreams and desires to service Troy – is
hugely moving, perfectly showcasing Davis’ skill to play deep emotions while
simultaneously holding those emotions in.
These two actors are both extraordinary – and there are also
fabulous performances from Henderson, Adepo, Williamson and Hornsby. What stops
it from being an outstanding film though is that its more of a theatrical event
pushed into a cinema. With the majority of the scenes taking place in Troy and
Rose’s backyard, you can picture the single-set theatre production. The camera
moves calmly from close-up to medium shot but does very little else. Very
little has also been changed or reworked in the play – compare to Arthur
Miller’s reworking of The Crucible or Peter Shaffer’s reimagining of Amadeus
for the screen. It’s a film with a slightly worthy, mission quality to it.
But as a showcase for the play – and the performances – it’s very fine.
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