Fences: Denzel Washington intelligently doesn’t try to hide the origin of the material: the long, beautiful August Wilson dialogue is staged simply, for the most part in one single location. The power of the story (and there is a lot of it) is in the power of the dialogue and acting, and Washington (as the director) stays out-of-the-way of both. He is, as a performer, gorgeous, owning his complex character and his words fully. Viola Davis matches him beat-for-beat and is equally superb. The rest of the small cast is also rather solid, Jovan Adepo, in particular. It should be noted, however, that the acting is slightly to the theatrical side, quite naturally. The film looks simple but good: Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s camerawork is fine, effective, unshowy; the house is well-decorated, filled with nice touches.