FENCES

In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family. — TMDb

FENCES is based on a stage play and the movie suffers from feeling exactly like that. The acting and dialogue sounded like it was done on a stage and it detracted from the feeling of authenticity for me. This is a very dialogue-driven movie — it’s all about the dialogue. And at 2 hours 19 minutes, it’s incredibly long to just be listening to talking — even if it is between a number of interesting characters. There are a few powerful, emotional moments but, overall, doesn’t have the power it should.