In Fences, Troy Maxson (Denzel) never shuts up. And there is persistent hope that someone will parachute into the suburban Pittsburgh backyard and plead with him to stop talking. The problem therein would be that his prolific nay-saying and constant projecting would be sorely missed. It’s addictive.

Troy’s soapbox diatribes, while captivating, expose his obvious transparency as he holds everyone accountable for their actions while blaming everyone for his transgressions. It’s a character flaw that we sympathize with to start but grow angry with over time. And I think that’s the point.

Thankfully we have Rose (Davis) to soothe us and fill in the divots left after Troy verbally charges through everyone. She is raising Troy’s children (one is hers) in spite of him. She supports them when he condescends them, especially when it comes to Cory (Adepo) and Lyons (Hornsby) creating their own path in sports and music, respectively. In an interesting similarity, our sympathy for Rose tranforms into another emotion as well, sadness.

Denzel clearly cements his iconic Film Clas status. The film is spatially small but packs a huge personality. We paint Fences with the elite brush, awarding 4.6 napkins out of 5.