Troy maxson is Black American sanitation worker and a father fighting racism issues in the states and also trying to raise a family. His childhood takes a toll on his relationship with his son.
Yes, Fences suffers somewhat from the bare-bones transferal of the "action" from stage to screen but the material is so compelling that viewers can easily lose sight of the movie's "play nature."
All that being said, Washington and Viola Davis - reprising their 2010 Broadway roles - are so damn good and the supporting cast is so solid, Fences is worth seeing for the acting alone.
The performances by each of its six main characters... combined with Washington's gripping direction (inciting a mix of terror, madness, and pity), FENCES is simply extraordinary. It is not to be missed.
As with many such family dramas, Davis' Rose is the foundation - and the scene in which she expresses betrayal may well be the movie's best. The rest of the cast, including Washington himself, is very nearly her equal.
the power of the story lies not in its tragedy, but in how it finds the good in the bad, the seed of hope in the moments of despair, the strength of character in those most deeply and fundamentally flawed
The two lead performances are stunningly complex and deeply human achievements from two of the finest actors working today.
New York Magazine/Vulture
December 24, 2016
It's not cinematic enough to make you forget you're watching something conceived for another, more spatially constricted medium, but it's too cinematic to capture the intensity, the concentration, of a great theatrical event.
The bare-bones aesthetic means the film functions as a showcase for its cast, with Washington and Davis outsizing their environs with vivid grandiosity.