Fences (2016)

Academy Awards, USA 2017

Won Oscar	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Viola Davis
Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Todd Black Scott Rudin Denzel Washington
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Denzel Washington
	Best Adapted Screenplay August Wilson Posthumous nomination. Wilson completed the screenplay before his death in 2005.

Paramount Pictures
Directed by Denzel Washington
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Paramount)

Pittsburgh sanitation worker Denzel Washington lives paycheck to paycheck with his wife Viola Davis in a run down house. Apparently happy despite their situation, he laments the missed opportunities of his younger days as a talented baseball player denied advancement by the color of his skin. Hoping to avoid the same fate for his son, he refuses to let him go to college on a sports scholarship, eventually getting him kicked off the baseball team. Their disagreements become violent at times. Later, he drops a bombshell on his wife that he has fathered another child. She reluctantly agrees to raise her as her own daughter when the mother dies, but shuns Washington for the rest of their life together. Years later, the family gathers for his funeral and recall the paths their lives have taken. Based on the play by August Wilson, this is stagey and dialogue heavy. It is not, however, without its rewards, and is extremely well acted.