12/31/2016 FENCES Area Movie Theatres
THE CROOKED AND THE STRAIGHT
“'Fences' is the second major play of a poet turned playwright, August Wilson. One of the most compelling storytellers to begin writing for theater in many years [as of 1986], he has taken the responsibility of telling the tale of the encounter of the released black slaves with a vigorous and ruthless growing America decade by decade. 'Fences' encompasses the 1950's and a black family trying to put down roots in the slag slippery hills of a middle American urban industrial city that one might correctly mistake for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
-- Lloyd Richards, Introduction to the published script of "Fences," March 6, 1986
Fences is the first of August Wilson's "20th Century" cycle of plays to reach movie screens, and it is a singular achievement. Directed by (and starring) Denzel Washington, it is a vivid recreation of 1950's Pittsburgh, an unflinching portrait of a man whose pride is of epic proportions, who is, in fact, toxic to his family, his friends, his neighborhood, his own happiness. It is a lovingly rendered valentine to the play and the 2010 revival that won Tony's for much of its cast, most of whom are in this movie.
The late Mr. Wilson was a consummate crafter of words, of characters, of atmosphere. Accordingly, this essay will be punctuated by his words and characters, lifted whole cloth from his script for Fences. They ALL made it into his screenplay.
Troy: "Death ain't nothing. I done seen him. Done wrassled with him. You can't tell me nothing about death. Death ain't nothing but a fastball on the outside corner."
Troy Maxson is a walking valise of emotional baggage. The son of a poor (and cruel) sharecropper ...
Troy: "Sometimes I wish I hadn't known my daddy. He ain't cared nothing about no kids. A kid to him wasn't nothing. All he wanted was for you to learn to walk so he could start you to working."
..., he has made it to 1956, now working as a garbage man in Pittsburgh's Hill District. Once a murderer, once a baseball slugger, he finds himself with a fractured family, a grown son from a pre-prison marriage, a second son pushing his carefully constructed and ruthlessly enforced boundaries, a brother mentally destroyed by a World War II head injury, a wife with the patience of Job. As the movie progresses, it's clear that the literal fence he can't quite finish is a metaphorical fence, designed to keep "what's his" safe, actually pushing his family "out."
Troy: "Alright ...Mr. Death. See now ... I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take and build me a fence around this yard. See? I'm gonna build me a fence around what belongs to me. And then I want you to stay on the other side. See? ... You stay on the other side of that fence until you ready for me. Then you come up and knock on the front door. Anytime you want. I'll be ready for you."
Like the play, the movie doesn't stray far from the Maxson's back yard (a few "open up" transitions aside). This is, after all, a story of a family dissolving even as its borders become more concrete. And it's the singular achievement of Mr. Washington's design team (particularly Art Directors Karen Gropman and Gregory Weimerskirch) that the yard looks real, looks "lived in," evokes from every angle (and in every corner) a '50's working class "refuge." Backgrounds of the Pittsburgh skyline are grey and sooty, deep in the heyday of Pittsburgh Steel Mill "prosperity." (as Mr. Wilson's other plays make clear, that "prosperity" was for the owners only -- their workers had a bleakly de minimus share of that "prosperity.") It's very significant that Cinematographer Charlotte Christensen keeps the skies cloudy, keeps the dominant colors dusky grey until a final moment that should have been corny, but is perfectly "brought down to earth" by the final line of the play.
Rose: "I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a life, too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. 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?"
So, the question remains, how can a movie of a play that consists of little more than folks sitting around talking have the narrative drive of a the latest Marvel blockbuster? Why is it as compellingly watchable as it is on stage?
Why ask why? It just is.
It has to help that Mr. Washington and his cast know these roles backwards and forwards. It helps that the unflinching camera sees all the behind-the-eyes subtext that is the hallmark of the best film acting. Three of these actors won Tony's projecting these characters to the balcony, it makes sense that all that "internal" work, too distant for the theatre, comes alive on screen.
Denzel Washington is a true marvel, creating a character that should be despicable, a character who makes every wrong decision imaginable, a character who can be the cruellest of cruel to those he loves the most, but who actually THINKS he's "Doing the Right Thing." Any other character who does what he does would be the villain of a Lifetime movie. Here, he is a hero of Shakespearean proportions, a man whose casual cruelties are not forgiven, but are counterbalanced by the sheer will behind his life and choices. I can think of no other actor who could make us forget James Earl Jones' equally memorable Troy from thirty years ago
Rose: "You can't be nobody but who you are, Cory. You either got to grow into it or cut it down to fit you. But that's all you got to make life with. Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't ... and at the same time he tried to make you everything he was. I don't know if he was right or wrong...but I do know he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm. He wasn't always right. Sometimes when he touched he bruised. And sometimes when he took me in his arms he cut."
He is perfectly balanced by Violet Davis' portrayal of Troy's long-patient wife, Rose. (In fact, one writer has already written that she "Out-Denzels the Denzelest Denzel That Ever Denzel'd.") Their on-screen chemistry is palpable, and feeds all the decisions SHE makes before movie's end. She is a strong woman who loves her husband in spite of (perhaps because of) his pride, his stubbornness, and I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She dominates the movie, even sitting in the background with her knitting.
Rose: "Okay, Troy ...you're right. I'll take care of your baby for you ... cause ... like you say ... she's innocent ... and you can't visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time. From right now ... this child got a mother. But you a womanless man."
Their supporting ensemble is also truly remarkable (will there ever be an Oscar for "Best Ensemble?"). Stephen Henderson repeats his Tony-winning performance as Bono, Troy's long-time friend and sounding board. Russell Hornsby hits every note right as Troy's musician first-son, Lyons; and Mykelti Williamson is perfect (and believable) as Troy's brain-damaged brother, Gabe. New to the cast is Jovan Adepo as Troy's youngest son, Cory. Mr. Adepo is a quivering rock of vulnerable pride, every inch Troy's son, but, as per the likes-repelling rules of physics, always at odds, always keeping as far as possible.
Troy: "Cause it's my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you! Let's get this straight right here .. I ain't got to like you. Don't you try and go through life worrying if somebody like you or not. You best be making sure they doing right by you."
I really loved how this movie brings Mr. Wilson's play to life, how it brings the Pittsburgh of the '50's to life. In any sane universe, Mr. Washington and his design team would be required to bring ALL of the "Century" plays to the screen. This is a movie that I'll watch again and again, and which will forever be a benchmark for all productions of this play.
And Denzel Washington and Viola Davis have given the best performances I have seen on screen this year.
Gabriel: "That's the way that go!"
-- Brad Rudy (BK Rudy@aol.com #FencesOnScreen)