But even with these two adding nothing but pure freshness to this 90’s classic, Denzel Washington was clearly the star. He single handedly changed my view of Sci-Fi films and the roles Black men could play in them forever. Sure The Empire Strikes Back had Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) in it but he was reduced to being a traitor whose sole purpose was apparently to lock his buddy up while he openly seduce his girlfriend on his cloud planet. I mean dude even had a change of clothes waiting for her when she arrived; now that’s an OG playa move right there! But I digress.
Denzel was so young, cool, and hip in that film that for an entire year I tried to emulate everything he did. I changed the way I walked, talked and even smiled; and if I had the money back then, I would’ve changed my wardrobe too but sadly I had to stick to wearing British Knights for my kicks.
Well, as I watched his latest film Fences, I had to come to the sad realization that that version of Denzel no longer exists. I can take Harrison Ford limping around set with Chewbacca and I can even take Tom Cruise resorting to sea god magic to help him retain his boyish good looks but the second I saw a sullen Denzel with his gray hair and his size 18 bowling ball gut leaning up against a dresser in Fences, it finally started to sink in. If Denzel is old, that must mean that my gray hair and bowling ball gut must be coming soon too! Dammit! As if the material in this film wasn’t sad enough!
Fences is the film adaptation of the classic August Wilson play from the early 80’s. It’s the story of Troy Maxon, a Black man who lives in Pittsburgh in the mid 50’s who’s struggling to deal with both the current state of race relations in America and the lot that life has given him after he was unable to make it in the Big Leagues due to the color of his skin. He’s now reduced to being a garbage man whose only goal is to make it to Friday’s payday so he can provide for his family and have a drink of gin with his longtime buddy Jim (played by the highly underrated Stephen Henderson).
He has a faithful and steady wife in Rose (Viola Davis) and a son Cory who is also good at sports. He’s so good in fact that a recruiter from North Carolina is scheduled to drive up with the hopes of getting him to sign a letter of intent. Troy however is deadest against this as he fears his son will face the same disappointments he did, so he sees this as his opportunity to protect him from the ways of the world. And no one, including his wife, can convince him that the world is changing. Will Troy’s stubborn ways and his sense of feeling trapped in his life wreck his family or will he finally figure out what’s actually right in front of him?
The source material is of course solid but it’s the unbelievable performances of Denzel and Viola that makes this film stand out. Denzel purposely let himself go physically so he could properly immerse himself into the character of the has been star, Troy who is desperately trying to remain relevant in the world he now knows. He’s both likeable and detestable at the same time and only a character of Denzel’s quality can pull this off. I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to be on the porch chilling with troy but then five minutes later wanted to repeatedly punch him in the face while yelling "wakeup dude!" Like I said, only Denzel.
And of course Viola Davis is magnificent. Hopefully the Academy doesn’t short her this year. The first act of the film comes off very much like a play as each character spits off monologues with rapid fire (it eventually settles into the classic movie format) and she certainly holds her own. There’s one gut wrenching scene in the film’s second act where her performance in that 10 minute span alone should warrant her the Oscar. I’m not sure why it took Hollywood so long to discover her but I’m glad they finally did.
This film is both funny and heartbreaking and I strongly suggest that you check it out. It gets a rating of very FRESH from me.
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