Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) works as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. He once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the MLB began admitting black athletes. Extremely bitter over his missed opportunity, not achieving what he wanted in life, and more, Troy creates tension with his family.

Fences was a fantastic movie. Fantastic acting by Denzel Washington(who also made his directorial debut with this film), Viola Davis, and the rest of the returning Broadway cast, great writing, and everything else you expect from an Oscar quality film. No doubt that this movie was trying to be Oscar bait and it most definitely achieved that goal. However that isn't a bad thing! This was good Oscar bait. The kind that reels in the big fishes.... meaning nominations and awards and for good reason.... Ok I'm getting off topic now, back to the review.

This review is going to be short and sweet because there really is only one thing that I really want to talk about and that is the quality I liked the most, its central theme; this theme being what about me? What about my life? What about the dreams I wanted to achieve in life? I really liked these big questions that this movie asked. It offered a lot of deep dialogue, great acting opportunities, and also some self-reflection topics for its viewers. As the story unfolds, these themes become heavier and seem to be a weight on these characters that showed both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Once again, the acting was fantastic. Oscar nods for sure when it comes to Denzel and Viola. This filmed needed strong acting performances to really make the movie work and these two delivered.

Now keep in mind that this movie is based off a play which means there is going to be A LOT of dialogue. Some scenes carry on for a very long time and this will get tiresome to some people. For me, I was really engaged in the story and the writing was so good that I really never lost focus. I really enjoyed Fences but I can understand how it won’t be for everyone. My one real issue with the film (and this is one a lot of people seem to be having as well) is the last few minutes of the movie. It didn’t ruin the movie but it left the audience with a bad taste at the end. For me, I just don't think it worked; it felt clunky and awkward. Oh well, overall Fences was a well-rounded film that is sure to be recognized come Oscar nominations.

Rating: See It

-Nick