Click here to copy URL

Fences

2016

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo ...

6.3

9,456

Drama An African American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life.

	Author	Review
United States	Todd McCarthy The Hollywood Reporter	"['Fences'] offers enough dramatic meat, boisterous humor and lived-in performances to hook audiences of all stripes"	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"'Fences' has passages of fierce and moving power, but on screen the play comes off as episodic and more than a bit unwieldy (...) The acting is all superb"	NEU
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Washington doesn't try to improve upon August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, but he brings it to the screen with integrity (and a handful of incredible performances)"	POS
United States	Rodrigo Perez The Playlist	"'Fences' feels enclosed by its upright, oratory delivery (...) It’s essentially a static, filmed play and perhaps one of the most uncinematic adaptations to hit the big screen in recent memory"	NEG
United States	Ty Burr Boston Globe	"You don't get groundbreaking cinema from 'Fences,' but what you do get - two titanic performances and an immeasurable American drama - makes up for that (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of four)"	POS
United States	Robert Abele The Wrap	"Washington’s third directorial effort is his surest yet, honoring August Wilson’s powerful evocation of an African-American patriarch in 1950s Pittsburgh"	POS
United States	Mick LaSalle SFGATE	"Washington delivers not only one of the year's best performances, but one of the best self-directed performances in cinema history"	POS
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"'Fences' is much more than a filmed reading."	POS
United States	Brian Truitt USA Today	"With the level of acting talent involved, Fences could have been filmed in the parking lot of a pet store and still been just as effective (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of four)"	POS
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"A movie experience you won't forget (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of four)"	POS
United Kingdom	Catherine Shoard The Guardian	"Denzel Washington and Viola Davis set to convert Tonys to Oscars (...) This film is conceived as a showcase for its performers, and, as that, it is immaculate (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of five)"	POS

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.