In Praise of SAG's "Fences" Ensemble Nomination...
Friday, January 20, 2017 at 7:26PM by Brian Zitzelman
As Viola Davis marches towards Oscar #1 and Denzel Washington to nomination #7 for Fences, let us not forget the other wonderful players in the film. Garnering a SAG nomination for Outstanding Ensemble, Fences is a small, but rich cast...
The only true newcomers to the Fences cast, the others having played the same roles on Broadway, are Saniyya Sidney (who arrives briefly in the final chapter) and Jovan Adepo. Adepo portrays Cory, the teenage son of Washington's bitter, increasingly angry Troy. Perhaps lost in the talk about Lucas Hedges marvelous work in Manchester by the Sea, Adepo is captivating in Fences, portraying youthful hope against the despair of his family's gradual crumbling. The major confrontation with Troy carries extra weight because we believe that the boy has surpassed the feather, just as Cory does. Adepo plays the miscalculation as devastating, overwhelmed both physically and mentally by the larger Washington.
On the other end of the spectrum is Steven McKinley Henderson as Jim Bono, Troy's friend of many a decade. Bono sees through the facades, while sticking by him. Henderson, long a respected stage presence, makes every chummy laugh and look of disappointment live with a lifetime of empathy. Henderson never grandstands or oversells a joke from Washington's character. Bono's heard all of these yarns and excuses, or their variations, and Henderson makes that relationship honest.
Russell Hornsby's Lyons is another example of this. The words August Wilson originally brewed have deep resonance via Hornsby, a son who has disappointed a dad too many times to bare reliability. Wilson's dialogue implies this as Hornsby' s smooth cadence and demeanor makes one guess Lyons' genuineness. Whether Lyons just needs a few bucks or is once more taking what he never intends to pay back earns a mysterious level via Hornsby.
Playing Gabriel, Troy's brother, Mykelti Williamson has the most thankless task; portraying a person with a mental illness/injury. Everyone has seen too many movies where an actor has to stutter or stammer his or her speech to portray a problem. For Williamson's Gabriel, that comes in the form of brain damage suffered while fighting in military combat. Williamson conveys a thought pattern that no longer rolls in a straight line, while not resorting to screeching and flopping around.
There is appropriate plentiful love going around for Davis and Washington but these actors deserve praise, too, for helping to shape this moving narrative.
Reader Comments (7)
I would love Henderson to be nominated,such a lived in performance.
Henderson is my unsung hero from Fences. His performances is just perfectly understated. He does so much of his acting with facial expressions that are never overdone. Great article.
The entire casa is just superb. What they achieve with such a difficult text is transcendent.
The level of challenge These words present to The actors is gargatuan. And they do wonders with it.
And The fact that Denzel is going to lose his third to Casey Affleck is laughable to me.
Amanda, I agree. I loved Fences and Manchester did not work for me at all.
Michael R, what Denzel does with the amount of words he has to work with and The complexity of The text..... The melody, pace, texture, density of Wilson's words... The degree of difficulty is immense.....
In my opinion it towers over what Affleck did.
YAAAS to this. Fences was #1 on my TFE ballot for best ensemble, and Henderson was #2 on my supporting actor list. Denzel & Viola are stupendous, but everyone else was outstanding as well -not a weak link in the cast.
The entire cast was superb, not a weak link. I enjoyed each minute!