A simply extraordinary film without crashes, bangs and wallops but full of towering performances delivered with intelligence, power and heart.
Denzel Washington and Viola Davis excel in a well-crafted drama that’s sure to bring the late August Wilson’s words to a much wider audience.
What is not up for debate is that this is a work full of sensitivity, humour and wisdom, enacted with ferocious passion. Washington and the gut-wrenchingly brilliant Davis won Tonys for their performances on Broadway. For this not to get any Oscars love would really be a scandal.
This feels more like a record of a stage performance than a film in its own right. That, though, doesn’t lessen its impact in the slightest or take away from the searing brilliance of the two leads.
A masterclass in screen acting.
The richness and intensity doesn’t make the jump from stage to screen.
Washington directs and stars in this intelligent and brilliantly cast adaptation of August Wilson’s play about a garbage collector who was once a baseball star.
It remains very theatrical throughout but, for all of us who never had the chance to see Washington and Davis on Broadway, it is a worthwhile venture.
Denzel Washington is exhausting as a sanitation worker in this dense adaptation of a play about racial tension.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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