We’re hardly done with the summer season at the movies, what withSuicide Squadstill a few weeks off, but it’s never too early to think about Oscar qualifiers, right? There have been plenty of great American films that have been released so far this year, fromHail Caesar!andKnight of CupstoEverybody Wants Some!!andLove & Friendship, but with the possible exception of the Coen brothers' extraordinary Hollywood comedy, there’s little likelihood that any of these will get an Oscar nomination at the end of the year.Knight of CupsandLove & Friendshipare too arty by half, andEverybody Wants Some!!is a comedy, but beyond that, the biggest reason that these films will almost certainly not receive any Academy Awards attention is that they were released before September.
If you want to take a good look at who we will be seeing at the Oscars in 2017, put your eyes towards major dramatic works with a controversial twist, such asClint Eastwood’sSully,Nate Parker’sThe Birth of a Nation,Ang Lee’sBilly Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, andMel Gibson’sHacksaw Ridge. There’s also smaller hopefuls likeManchester by the Sea,American Pastoral,Loving,Midnight,Nocturnal Animals, andLa La Land, but today brings news of what will likely be a major new contender in the form ofDenzel Washington’sFences, which has finally secured a 2016 release date.
Varietyreports that Washington’s adaptation of the greatAugust Wilson’s famous play will hit theaters in a limited capacity on December 16th, before expanding on Christmas Day, putting it up against such works asDavid Frankel’s troubledCollateral Beauty,Peter Berg’sPatriots Day,Passengers, andRogue One: A Star Wars Story. Considering the fact that Washington’s first two directorial efforts,Antwone FisherandThe Great Debaters, were both estimable, if not exactly unique historical dramas, one can see howFencesmight very well find a place in the race, which is dictated exclusively by politics and political perception.
In that sense, Wilson’s story of a poor, Southern-born African-American family could drive plenty of voters its way, depending on where Washington diverges from the original text and what thematic element - there are more than a few inFences- Washington decides to highlight. We’ll know better when December rolls around, but for now, I would consider Washington in the running at the very least.
