Fences brought playwright August Wilson’s work to life for the benefit of all.
The film focused on the emotional development of men without the premise of athletics or combat. These traditional elements are not lost, however, as sports metaphors and war stories were brilliantly incorporated. For example: Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) harbors bitterness after being told he was too old to play major league baseball when blacks were finally allowed into the league.
Act one is all about Troy, and the film forces the audience to participate. Despite Troy’s rapid speech, the audience connects with the supporting characters immediately. His monologues developed characters, provided exposition and engaged the audience by forcing them to decipher what he says.
Troy relates how his father beat him mercilessly for his adolescent attempts at becoming a man through physical confrontation. During the film, Troy and his son Cory (Jovan Adepo) disagree repeatedly. Troy provokes Cory, eager to usher his son into manhood. As he taunts and berates his son’s youth, Troy becomes the film’s principal antagonist. Baseball metaphors increase the tension as opportunities for Cory to violently confront his father are referred to as “at bats.” Each time Cory backed down or spoiled an opportunity to fight, Troy let him know he had earned a strike.
Beneath the surface, we see a middle-aged man struggling to juggle relevance and feelings of pride in his son. Troy would not have allowed himself to be beaten by his teenage son because of his personal pride. This is a heartbreaking lesson — as man and boy battle over old and new ideals — portrayed in a way familiar to many young men entering manhood.
Viola Davis delivered an academy award winning performance in her role as Troy’s wife Rose Maxson. Despite receiving less screen time than Washington, Davis’ monologue was the most important part of the film.
In act two, Troy admits to Rose that he was about to father a child outside their marriage. She is incredulous, hurt and defensive. Troy explained his infidelity by arguing that he had been standing on first base for 18 years. Rose’s response showed a perspective most selfish men would not ever have realized on their own.
“I’m trying the best I can to explain it to you,” said Troy. “It’s not easy for me to admit that I been standing in the same place for eighteen years.”
“I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you,” said Rose. “Don’t you think I ever wanted other things? Don’t you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life? What about me?”
The story’s title is well chosen. Throughout the film, Troy works to build a fence around his backyard. His best friend Bono said, “Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.”
Troy’s fence became a metaphor for his heart from beginning to end. As the fence progressed, his friends and family became more alien to him, while he becomes further self-absorbed.
The composition of the film evoked a sense of intimacy. Tight camera angles, limited locations and dynamic lighting induced feelings of claustrophobia as the film progressed. Scenes with darker lighting were framed with a subtle vignette, forcing the audience to limit their focus to the subject alone.
Fences taught lessons about feeling taken for granted, living with choices, facing death and forgiveness. From Wilson’s mind to the page, through the direction and acting of Washington and Davis, there is something for everyone in this story.
