A parade of Big Scenes

I've never seen an August Wilson play, so I was looking forward to this faithful adaptation of one of his works. Unfortunately, I did not think it was very good. It's hard for me to tell if it's the author's style (since it's his screen adaptation), this particular story, or the realization of that story that I don't like, but this film does not work for me.

The movie felt like a parade of Big Scenes. Sure, a movie or play will be full of dramatically significant moments, but they don't always involve big speeches and drama. Smaller scenes that reveal character are important, too. Humor is an effective way to vary the mood and keep the audience engaged, but despite the genial nature of many of the characters, the film was mostly humorless. Perhaps that's partly why it generally felt fake to me. The baseball analogy felt overplayed. The song fragment about old Blue took on a length and significance it didn't deserve. Everything felt off.

Denzel and Viola are getting praise for their performances (they previously won Tonys for these roles), but Denzel felt overwrought, trying too hard to be Serious that his natural charisma got buried. Viola seemed miscast, like a well-educated woman playing someone who isn't rather than an actor embodying a character. That first backyard scene of Denzel telling tales might have worked in the theater, but it just seemed to drag on and on in the cinema. Most of the rest of the film dragged as well. There are some interesting insights and moments here and there, but overall I was bored and eager for the whole thing to end.