Oscars 2017: Every Best Picture Nominee - Ranked From Worst To Best
6. Fences
Denzel Washington directs for the first time since 2007's The Great Debaters, turning August Wilson's brilliant play into an excellent film.
There's nothing really showy about Washington's direction - he's solid but unspectacular - and yes, it does look like a film of a stage production. But what a stage production it is.
Washington and Viola Davis starred in Fences on Broadway, and they haven't lost a step in coming back to these characters. The central performances are the heart of the movie, and both actors could well be finding themselves with gold (Davis definitely will, Washington is a coin-flip with Casey Affleck).
The script is fantastic too, with a couple of truly standout monologues, but mostly unfurling gradually, the lives of the Maxons turning without them even noticing it until it's too late. The cracks start to widen, the troubles become more pronounced, and it builds to devastating effect.
There's nothing over-the-top here, but it's a really intelligent movie, anchored by two truly powerhouse performances.