The story takes place in the low-level communities of Pittsburgh in the 1950s. It revolves around the family of the protagonist Troy Maxson played by Washington. The blacks' counterattack against the oppression of life, their helpless compromise with reality, and the struggle between marriage and dreams are all expressed through dialogue. When Troy was a young professional baseball star, because of the lack of opportunities for his complexion, he was resentful and cynical. Living in a poor life, he embarked on the road of robbery, accidentally murdered and was imprisoned, and reformed to start a family after he was released from prison. He wanted to return to the baseball game but was rejected because of his age, so he had to work as a sanitation worker to support his family. He fought for his rights and became the first black driver to drive a garbage truck. In addition to taking care of his wife and children, he also had to take care of his stupid brother who suffered brain injuries during the war, and he became close friends with his white colleagues...
The film deconstructs the democratic process in a silent way (increasing the number of people of color in the team, and black sanitation workers striving to be drivers), but also directly looks at the gloom and bleakness of humanity in marriage and family life: Troy, who is a husband and father, stubbornly refuses to accept the era Changes, negative communication and understanding, creating barriers for the heart, thinking that my family will dedicate everything from me to advertise, indulging in the lofty illusion of the victim who is owed. The elder son is addicted to music and playing the violin, and the younger son wants to play rugby to go to college. The father's education for them is all about the dream of luxury, not taking risks, making money to support the family is important. For those struggling to survive, the cost of failure is unbearable. It can be said that Troy is both a victim and a perpetrator in destroying hope for the future.
A major source of his insecurity is that it seems that he is taking care of his younger brother, but the house he lives in depends entirely on the pension of his injured younger brother. His guilt was naturally forgotten by his wife and the audience. However, his brother was always caught in trouble. Troy, who had been sternly refused when he was persuaded to go to the hospital twice before, still unloaded the burden for the money to sign an agreement with different words and deeds.
After Troy won the driver's position, he told relatives and friends that he didn't even have a driver's license. Failure to abide by the rules and irresponsibility, if so, also made a footnote for later derailment. In the middle of the film, he confessed to his wife that he had an illegitimate daughter outside, which made many viewers feel that the plot was broken. However, when he rewatched it, he would notice that his white friend had repeatedly reminded him not to catch fire in his backyard, and also expressed meaningfully that “some people built fences to stop people, and some were to keep people.” After the derailment broke out. , The Trojans are disgusted by others, and they drift away from their friends, and the meeting is embarrassing and loses the topic.
In contrast, the wife Rose, played by Viola Davis, is the glue for the whole family. She is enthusiastic, cheerful, gentle and considerate, and is a standard good wife and mother. Building a fence has the dual nature of imprisonment and protection for the husband and wife: the former must be pushed out, and the latter must be pushed inward. When Troy treated her sons coldly, she reconciled her to avoid embarrassment; when Troy confessed to the facts of the derailment, she wept but was unable to leave, silently enduring her husband to accompany his lover outside and eventually raising the illegitimate daughter he took home. Her wifehood and motherhood were deeply imprinted in her spirit because of her sense of responsibility, until she was swallowed by the shadow of Troy's husband's power, losing her self-dignity and the courage to start again. As in the film, she said: "He is so tall, as if he occupies the entire house. But maybe, his figure is so tall that I forgot to leave a little space for myself."
At first glance, "The Fence" is destined to be. A highly controversial, bipolar and even poorly-reviewed film that left the scene not only because of the natural flaws of the drama-style film, namely the bombardment of lines, the monotonous scenes, and the simple scheduling, it easily makes people tired and impatient, but also the film The characters created are rich and difficult to define, and the audience's attitude towards them will also go to extremes. Troy played by Washington was babbled and irritable in the first half, while the outline of the characters gradually became clear in the second half, and his strengths and weaknesses were exposed. He was truly credible and heart-palpiting; his wife Rose’s self-salvation was just living in the same place as Troy. Under the eaves, it is like a stranger, taking the illegitimate daughter as a part of her vitality, taking care of her and growing up.
According to the popular black-and-white labeling set, he is a selfish straight male cancer, his wife has a forbearing and kind heart of the Virgin, and the children have to get rid of the influence of the original family and the bloodline. The whole film is called three views. . However, without prejudice, going through this middle-aged crisis that is no different from that of white people, you will find that the man trapped in the world, the woman dedicated to love, and the child limited by dreams in the film are all affected by a strong sense of destiny. Being oppressed and not knowing how to break free, put yourself in and think: Isn't this tragedy a reality?
On the edge of love and hate, the cycle of destiny is also embarrassing. Troy left home because of the entanglement with his father. Although he felt resentment towards his father when he looked back on the past, he then muttered to himself: "During hard work, I can also feel the influence of my father's blood on me. "The younger son wanted to follow his father’s path of movement, but was strongly blocked in the name of repeating the same mistakes. The vicious interaction between Troy and the younger son and the eventual drive away of the son seemed to be a recurrence of the past. But is there really only hatred between father and son? Don’t forget the song of the old dog Bru, which appeared three times and was written by Troy’s father. It is like a symbol of family affection and is sung among three generations. When the wife Rose was told by her husband to cheat, she cried out that her siblings in childhood were children of chaotic blood and different parents, and she tried her best to prevent her offspring from facing the same situation. But in the end, the three children she raised for Troy were half-parents, and her own destiny seemed like a curse and cruel jokes, which was painful.
Troy confessed that the reason for his derailment was that his lover let him temporarily forget his responsibilities to the family and let him relax. And under the tense interpersonal conflict throughout the film, it is Troy's stupid brother Geb who can give the audience a breath. Without the depression of dreaming frustration, he is happy because of simplicity. As a real "homeowner", he seems to provide a reference for his family: the eldest son plays music as his uncle Geb plays the trumpet, and the younger son gives up his dream and joins the Marines. My sister-in-law gave a rose with the same name as her. How did you ever see Troy so romantic?
The final scene in which Troy appeared was a wide-angle lens with blurred edges with a baseball hanging on a tree as the starting point of view. The drunk father, who had just driven his son out of the house, waved his bat, as if Don Quixote struggled with his unhappy life. Six years after the black screen, relatives and friends reunited at the funeral of Troy. The unwillingness and resentment of the sons were eventually wiped out by time and death. At the end, with the trumpets of the brothers of "Holy Fool", with the sight of the wives and children, the sky is shining with clouds and the sun is shining, and Troy's soul seems to ascend to heaven. This shot can't help but think of the end of "Breaking the Waves" and the bells in the clouds are soothing. Although there is no lack of suspicion of being whitewashed, it is the limitations of social development at that time and the imprint of the times, coupled with the character of the character and the influence of the original family, that makes him an unpleasant image. Even though he has committed many mistakes, there are pitiful things about the hateful. He is still worthy of being remembered and remembered if he has done his duty. In addition, the treatment here also echoes the prophecy of the silly brother before: he once saw his brother's name in St. Peter's Judgment Book, and went to heaven after death.
The drama "Fence" won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award in 1987 when it was launched. The film script was copied by the original author August Wilson himself. Denzel Washington once said: " August is the American Shakespeare, you can’t adapt Shakespeare.” Relying on the original work, it’s solid and good-looking, but as a movie, its scenes are simple and unobtrusive. The dialogue uses two-person front and back shots, and the conflict is in close-up and close-ups. The overall routine is not much. surprise. The rich and extended part of the character's experience is not presented in video images but is promoted by line performance, which may not be attractive enough for today's audiences. After going through the first part of the high-density dialogue, the rhythm gradually slows down in the middle and the back part, occasionally interspersed with silent moments to make pauses and commas, so that those whispers that reveal the heart, contemplate the past, or cry outright grievances become emotional thorns that resonate. point. But Washington's words are too much like rap. I'm afraid it really takes a little patience to get to the touch point.
Among the four awards nominated by the Oscars for "Fence" (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay), the most likely winner is Viola Davis's actress. Her two crying scenes in "Fences" are very penetrating, one full of hatred and despair, one infiltrating love and remembrance. The Golden Globe Award for best actress has been in the bag, and the Oscar statuette seems to be close at hand. . After all, as the heroine of the film, in order to improve her chances of winning, she took the initiative to lower herself to be a female partner to compete. I wish her good luck.
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