Fences movie review

Jacob Sosdian
Staff Writer

      Fences is one of the best dramas I have seen in 2016. It was originally a 1983 play by August Wilson. Fences won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the 1987 Tony Award for best play. Just very recently this film won a Golden Globe for best actress by Viola Davis. The movie, directed by and starring Denzel Washington, is about an African American who works as a garbage man. He is a father who tries to raise his family in the 1950s while coming to terms with the events of his life. 

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      Denzel Washington and Viola Davis did a fantastic job bringing back what it is like living as an African American family in the 1950’s. There was a lot of discrimination going on during this time. Almost the whole movie takes place in the main character, Troy Maxson’s house or backyard. I like how they did this because it shows a lot of the problems this family faces even when they are at home. My favorite scenes are with the father and his son. Troy’s son wants to be a football player, but Troy does not want him to do that because of what happened to him in the baseball league because of his skin color. The way that Troy would talk to his son is very powerful, especially the part where Troy’s son asked his dad why he didn’t like him. Troy’s answer was something that gave me goose bumps. Jovan Adepo plays Cory, Troy’s son; Russell Hornsby plays Lyons who is a jazz musician; and Mykelti Williamson plays Gabriel, Troy’s mentally-disabled brother. Williamson is known for playing Bubba in Forrest Gump. The dialogue in this film is really on point with the African American slang. A lot of the things the characters talk about are race relations, money, jobs, and family. These topics were big in the African American families during this time period. I love how this ties with historical events. You don’t see anything happen, but you do hear about discrimination and what color your skin is and how that matters a lot during the mid-1900s.
​      Fences may not be for everyone since this movie is a film play. There is no action and most of this movie reminds me of A Raisin in the Sun. For anyone who likes well-written drama scripts then this is the perfect movie for you. I rate Fences a 9/10. I wonder what fantastic dramas will come out in 2017.