As director, star and a producer of “Fences,” Denzel Washington took it upon himself to bear a heavy load in bringing the work of the late legendary playwright August Wilson to a broader audience with the release of the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play of the same name.
The idea is a dream come true for theatre lovers eager to see the words of the literary genius come to life with the added dimension that cinema provides when the film lands in theatres on Christmas day.
Unfortunately for some – but fortunately for many others – the film adaptation of “Fences” is a mirror image of the theatrical production.
Those familiar with the work will feel a tinge of disappointment in seeing the film version run nearly completely parallel to the stage play – especially those who were privileged enough to experience the 2010 Broadway revival of the play, where the primary stars reprise their Tony Award-winning roles for the film. Even the stellar performances of the lead actors won’t curb the letdown of not seeing the vivid imagery offered through Wilson’s mastery of storytelling by way of his characters not being conveyed in a literal sense through scene and set changes.
But had Washington opted for a true adaptation, he would have most certainly faced an unforgiving dilemma: How on earth do you copyedit August Wilson? The answer based on Washington’s decisions as a filmmaker is that you don’t.
While it makes for a film that feels confined and one-dimensional, his decision to do so serves a greater good than simply keeping Wilson’s words unaltered. In a bait-and-switch of the best kind, the film “Fences” sells a mass audience on the power of live theatre.
Set in Pittsburgh in the early 1950s, “Fences” offers a bird’s eye view of the Maxon family through its patriarch. The viewer is barely taken outside of the confines of a tiny urban backyard, but through the power of Wilson’s words they connect with lead character Troy Maxon and his hard-fought sliver of the American dream.
A garbage collector in his early fifties, Troy has spent the better part of the past two decades of his life with an existence about as comfortable as the times will allow for a black man with a blue-collar job – thanks primarily to his wife Rose, the Maxon family backbone.
Life has been anything but easy for Troy Maxon. He’s been able to reconcile with most of it. Baseball is the primary exception. Despite being a gifted athlete, racism meant that he would never get a chance to be heralded for his talents on the field. By the time Major League Baseball was integrated, he was too old to play. Now he’s forced to watch athletes he feels were of lesser caliber enjoy fortune and fame while he barely carves out a living hauling garbage.
His teenage son Cory shows promise as an athlete, but the sting of his own experiences make Troy wary of allowing his son to capitalize on the opportunities that sports have the potential to provide.
With the exception of Cory and Raynell (the young people in the production), the film ensemble includes role reprisals from the 2010 Broadway production – which earned a “Best Revival of a Play” Tony Award.
Davis and Washington are as stellar and dynamic as they were on stage, tackling the thick, rich dialogue of Wilson in a manner that will most certainly garner awards for the film version as well.
While the chemistry and organic connection Davis and Washington deliver through their performance is already eliciting acclaim, Stephen McKinley Henderson’s portrayal as Troy’s best friend Bono should not go overlooked. Henderson illustrates the purpose of a good supporting player. The brotherly love and the subtle nuances of his presence lend a much needed layer of humanity to Maxon.
Russell Hornsby and Mykelti Williamson also reprise their roles from the Broadway production, with Jovan Adepo stepping in as Troy and Rose’s son Cory.
For the most part, portrayals of the complicated Maxon family dynamics – further impeded by Troy’s indiscretions and abrasive nature – make for a compelling drama that would have made Wilson proud.
“Fences” opens in theatres nationwide on Christmas Day. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 138 minutes.
