Fences (2016) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Fences
Year: 2016
Director: Denzel Washington
Country: US
Language: English

Last year's #Oscarssowhite controversy inspired Hollywood to release more films starring black actors in 2016. Fences is nominated for many awards this year, including Best Picture, and the majority of critics and filmgoers would say that it is well deserved. Fences was not based off an original screenplay; it first appeared in 1985 as part of playwright August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle,” a series of ten plays, each of which considers the African-American experience in a specific decade throughout the twentieth century. The character’s natural place exists on the stage, but certainly translates well to Cinema. 

Denzel Washington plays a working-class African-American father named Troy who tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life. 

Fences takes place before the Jim Crow laws were abolished and before the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but also in a time of rampant change when the Civil Rights Movement would begin to pick up momentum. Denzel Washington plays an incredibly complex character; a man who has had a disappointing life and is not able to comprehend the change in the world. From a historical perspective, Troy stands as a product of his time and a sad reminder of the pre-Civil Rights era

This film has quite a lot of depth; it can be viewed as a sociological study of inter-generational conflicts and how our environment can shape us or destroy us. There are many people in this world who are shattered because of what happened a generation ago. There are many people who can move past it and find success, whatever that may be. Driven by character, dialogue and performance, Fences is perhaps the best written film of this year. 

The direction, cinematography, score and mise en scene prove that Denzel is a masterful filmmaker and knows how to use Wilson's brilliant script to his fullest extent. Fences is a brutally honest film that hits the gut and makes us reflect on our own existence.