Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2016: Viola Davis in Fences

Viola Davis won the Oscar from her third nomination for her performance as Rose Lee Maxson in Fences.

Fences is an effective film about a working-class African-American man trying to come to terms with his life, his family and his mistakes that threaten to destroy it forever. I would say it's a very good movie although not quite a perfect one: the screenplay is obviously great considering the source, but the movie does not quite feel like a perfect transition from stage to film. The early scenes in particular have a rather distracting feeling as it seems almost like a filmed play: thankfully, as the movie progresses, this feeling diminishes and Denzel Washington' direction grows definitely more assured. Ultimately what makes the movie great is the strength of the original material and the acting from the entire ensemble.

The review may contain spoilers.

Since Viola Davis won the Tony for Best Leading Actress for her performance in the play, many people were fairly surprised to find out that she was going to campaign for supporting in the film adaptation: I would say the role is very borderline, and she's a good fit for both leading and supporting. She gets a huge amount of screen-time and she is the second most important character in the story, but she also has many moments in which she is not on-screen or just sort of hangs in the background. Regardless of her category placement, let's talk about her performance: watching the trailer I was rather skeptical about her performance since it looked a bit over-the-top at times. Davis herself is an actress I often admire but that I also find occasionally a bit hammy (not a huge fan of her performance in How to Get Away with Murder from the couple of episodes I've seen). Watching the movie, Davis proved me wrong: she gives a very subdued performance for the most part, and in the few scenes in which she goes big feel completely earned on her part. What I particularly appreciated about her performance is the way she clearly understands the character (after all, she played it on stage) and feels totally comfortable inside the character's skin. In her first scenes she could have so easily been overshadowed by the other performances around her instead she quietly leaves an impression with each of her moments: she quickly establishes Rose as a loving wife and mother but she never allows her character to feel just that, instead she adds a lot of depth and dimension to the role (which can often feel like a lifeless stereotype). She exudes the right amount of warmth in each of her interactions but she also portrays Rose as an intelligent, funny, even sassy woman, never allowing her to be defined by her status as a mother and a wife but creating a full-fleshed person there. Her chemistry with Denzel Washington in particular is very good as the two actors convey so well the history between the two characters: on her part, Davis is very effective at portraying Rose as a woman who sees the flaws in her husband but loves him nonetheless, and I particularly like her reactionary shots in the scenes where Troy (Washington) tells various stories to impress the people around him - she plays those scenes with a mix of annoyance and devotion, showing the complicated feelings she feels for her husband. But she works really well with the rest of the cast: I like her few nice interactions with Stephen Henderson as Bono, the family's friend, in which she again does a good job at adding humour to the proceeding while conveying the pasts of the two characters; I also really like her few scenes with Russell Hornsby (who plays Lyons, Troy's son from a previous marriage), bringing a warmth and understanding to her interactions with him but showing the proper difference between her relationship with him and the one with her biological son Cory (Jovan Adepo); her chemistry with Adepo is also great as she very touchingly shows her affection towards her son as well as her plight as she witnesses Troy's mistreatment of Cory - the scene in which she confronts Troy after he forbade Cory to play football ("Everything that boy do, he do for you") is a very moving moment due to Davis' portrayal of motherly love and support; and I was also impressed by her scenes opposite Mykelti Williamson, who plays Gabe, Troy's younger brother who is mentally handicapped after being severely injured during the war: again Davis brings the right sort of compassion in her moments with him and convey well both her sorrow due to his condition but also her guilt due to the fact that everything she has is due to the money Gabe received for his injury and that Troy took from him. 

Her big moments come midway through the movie when Troy reveals that he cheated on her and his mistress is pregnant: Davis is heartbreaking at portraying her confused, shocked reaction over this unexpected discovery and does a striking job at showing how this surprise and pain quickly turns to anger. Her big speech in which she tells Troy that she always stood by his side, burying her needs and desire because she felt it was her duty as a wife, is simply outstanding: it's a very loud scenes, full on screaming and tears, but Davis never takes it too far, painfully portraying her character's emotional devastation. Her delivery of "Don't you think I had dreams and hopes, what about my life, what about me?" couldn't be more moving as she just shows so well how all of Rose's life crumbles around her. Her later emotional scenes are on a much quieter level and Davis shows that she can thrive even in less explosive scenes: I love her acting in the scene in which she finds out that Troy's mistress died during childbirth - her display of emotional exhaustion and weariness is truly moving, and she's even better in the following scene in which she accepts to be a mother for the newborn child, acknowledging that the little baby has no faults, but refuses to forgive her husband: she is very moving at showing how Troy's infidelity has broken her heart to a point that makes a reconciliation impossible. Her delivery when she utters "Now this baby has a mother... but you're a womanless man" is just chilling due to Davis' cold, unforgiving voice in that moment. And I was also very impressed by the quiet fire she brings to the scene where Rose confronts Troy over the fact he had Gabe locked up in a facility to inherit the rest of his money. 

Viola Davis ends her performance on a very high note with her final scene that takes place after Troy's death and Cory tells her that he doesn't want to go to the funeral. Davis is absolutely amazing in her final speech as he reflects over her marriage with Troy: she conveys so well her regrets over her willingness to give up everything in her life for him but also her love for her husband that has never left her regardless of all of his mistakes. She does such a great job at showing her conflicted feelings over their history together but also bringing a lot of compassion and peace to her performance - Rose has finally come to realize that hate and resentment will not bring her any relief and that forgiveness is the only mean through which go on. 

Overall this is an excellent performance from Viola Davis who clearly has a deep understanding of her character, establishing her personality perfectly right from the beginning. She then does a great job at portraying her character's pain and conflict both in the louder and soubtler scenes, making Rose a very memorable and vivid character. It's a great performance from an actress of great talent and her eventual Oscar win will be richly deserved. 

4.5/5