Shut the front door! I was completely blown away. Fences is a phenomenal film directed by Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson. Prior to seeing this, I had no knowledge of what this was about. All I had to go off was the awesome trailer. Denzel Washington gave a historic performance as Troy Maxson, a hard-working father trying to make a living for his family. The film takes place in the 50’s when segregation was slowly seceding.

It was a real roller-coaster watching this. I found myself wanting to cry one minute and laughing the next. The dialogue was wonderfully written. I felt the desperation, the trauma, the time period. All of it was just so well done. The set design was impressive in itself as I felt I had stepped out of a time machine into the past. Recently turning 62, Denzel’s age was perfect for the role. His body type, demeanor, and speech made his character even more believable.

Rose Maxson, played by Viola Davis is a powerful presence on-screen. I have such a crush on this woman. She is strength personified. When she opens her mouth to speak it’s like the world stops spinning. The way she delivers her monologue makes me cringe but in a good way. Make no mistake, Viola Davis is no supporting actress let me tell you. Her and co-star Denzel Washington play off each other extremely well. There are times when I wanted to shout at the screen like, “Let’em have it!” Once you see the movie you’ll know what I mean.

Mykelti Williamson takes on the role of Gabriel, Troy’s brother who suffers from brain damage. He stole the film for me a lot of the time. One could argue he was the connective tissue of the family. I’ve seen this guy in other roles but this is his all time best. The actors spoken of so far are honorable mentions because everyone has their turn to steal the spotlight. Best casting I’ve seen to date. I could go on forever talking about this but for the sake of not spoiling anything I’m gonna stop here. PLEASE go out and support this movie. It is more than worth it. I debated all night on this conclusion. Fences is my #1 movie of 2016 with a whopping 10/10 rating.